Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Stake Boosted by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 11.8% during Q1, now owning 1.61% of the company's shares valued at approximately $470 million.
• Insider transactions include SVP Cyril Perducat selling 1,435 shares at an average price of $348.08, and VP Terry L. Riesterer selling 2,100 shares at $350.08, indicating significant reductions in their respective positions.
• Analysts have elevated price targets for Rockwell Automation, with Citigroup now setting a target of $392, reflecting strong investor confidence in the company’s growth potential.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 11.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 191,370 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 1.61% of Rockwell Automation worth $470,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $181,588,000 after purchasing an additional 700,447 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,632,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 213.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 357,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,263,000 after purchasing an additional 243,249 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 1,287.3% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 159,481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,221,000 after purchasing an additional 147,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,219,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $87,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $581,700. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 24,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.13, for a total value of $8,543,172.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 83,873 shares in the company, valued at $29,366,453.49. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,922 shares of company stock valued at $11,191,812. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $375.00 target price (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of ROK stock traded down $5.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $344.97. 545,729 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 741,584. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $360.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $38.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.41. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $345.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $304.15.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

About Rockwell Automation

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.