Kidder Stephen W Sells 4,175 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Kidder Stephen W reduced its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 14.2%, selling 4,175 shares, leaving them with 25,196 shares valued at approximately $8.37 million.
• CEO Blake D. Moret sold 24,400 shares of Rockwell Automation, representing a 22.54% decrease in his position, while insiders have sold a total of 31,922 shares in the last ninety days.
• Rockwell Automation reported a quarterly EPS of $2.82, surpassing estimates, and had quarterly revenue of $2.14 billion, up 4.5% compared to the previous year.

Kidder Stephen W lowered its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,196 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,175 shares during the period. Rockwell Automation makes up about 2.5% of Kidder Stephen W's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Kidder Stephen W's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $8,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $470,091,000 after purchasing an additional 191,370 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,579,956 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $408,229,000 after purchasing an additional 9,920 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,448,160 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $374,176,000 after purchasing an additional 30,837 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,396,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $360,777,000 after acquiring an additional 4,972 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,170,010 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $302,307,000 after acquiring an additional 11,849 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 24,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.13, for a total value of $8,543,172.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 83,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,366,453.49. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,435 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.08, for a total transaction of $499,494.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,318,178.96. This trade represents a 27.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,922 shares of company stock worth $11,191,812 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.68.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $344.16 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $360.92. The stock has a market cap of $38.69 billion, a PE ratio of 40.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $313.23.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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