Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires 7,485 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation, acquiring an additional 7,485 shares to reach a total of 459,480 shares valued at approximately $151.8 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported quarterly earnings of $2.82 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.67 EPS, along with a revenue increase of 4.5% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors hold approximately 75.75% of Rockwell Automation's stock, reflecting strong interest from various hedge funds, including Robeco Institutional Asset Management, which raised its position by 720.8% in the second quarter.

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 459,480 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,485 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.41% of Rockwell Automation worth $151,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 720.8% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 399,309 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $132,638,000 after buying an additional 350,662 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $73,908,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,632,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 213.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 357,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,263,000 after buying an additional 243,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 1,950.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 202,788 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,360,000 after buying an additional 192,898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $347.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $344.56 and a 200 day moving average of $317.27. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $360.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%.The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $363.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. CICC Research began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $347.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,435 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.08, for a total value of $499,494.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,318,178.96. This trade represents a 27.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,366,453.49. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,553 shares of company stock worth $10,361,079. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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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