Equitable Trust Co. Decreases Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. by 13.1%, ending the quarter with 12,942 shares valued at approximately $3.34 million.
• Several hedge funds increased their holdings in Rockwell Automation, with notable increases from Price T Rowe Associates by 6.5% and Alliancebernstein by 102.3% in the previous quarter.
• Rockwell Automation reported earnings of $2.45 per share, beating analyst estimates, with quarterly revenue decreasing by 5.9% year-over-year despite higher earnings than the previous year.

Equitable Trust Co. reduced its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,942 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,958 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $3,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,033,476,000 after buying an additional 432,934 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $779,426,000 after buying an additional 51,228 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,417,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $405,057,000 after acquiring an additional 53,287 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,391,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $397,628,000 after acquiring an additional 171,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 102.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $368,021,000 after acquiring an additional 651,116 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $357.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.01, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $328.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.27. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $360.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 65.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Bank of America raised Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $341.11.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total transaction of $171,134.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 983 shares in the company, valued at $319,819.05. This represents a 34.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total value of $118,454.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,325,838.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,138,220 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

Rockwell Automation, Inc provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products and services.

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