LS Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• LS Investment Advisors LLC acquired 1,040 shares of Rockwell Automation, valued at approximately $345,000, marking a new stake in the company during the second quarter.
• Insider sales saw Vice President Isaac Woods and Director James P. Keane selling a combined 3,365 shares, resulting in significant decreases of their holdings.
• Rockwell Automation reported a quarterly earnings increase to $2.82 EPS, surpassing estimates and indicating a year-over-year revenue growth of 4.5%.

LS Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,040 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $345,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 365 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.44, for a total value of $127,180.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at $589,212.04. This trade represents a 17.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total value of $1,068,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,272,903.52. This represents a 24.61% 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.7%

ROK stock opened at $339.96 on Friday. 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 $38.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.41. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $360.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $345.61 and a 200-day moving average of $308.05.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Wall Street Zen raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $392.00 target price (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America raised Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. CICC Research started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 target price for the company. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.16.

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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