Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. significantly increased its stake in Rockwell Automation, growing its holdings by 1,950.4% to own 202,788 shares valued at approximately $67.36 million.
• Multiple brokerages have varying ratings on Rockwell Automation, with Bank of America upgrading their rating to "buy" and raising the price target from $360 to $410 per share.
• Rockwell Automation reported earnings of $2.82 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and marking a 4.5% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.14 billion.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 1,950.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 202,788 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 192,898 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.18% of Rockwell Automation worth $67,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,424 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,652 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $281,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 128.7% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,382 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,466 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK traded down $2.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $345.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 772,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 926,785. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.41. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $360.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company's 50-day moving average is $346.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.60.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 price target on Rockwell Automation and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. CICC Research initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 24,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.13, for a total transaction of $8,543,172.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 83,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,366,453.49. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.08, for a total value of $735,168.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $361,632.64. The trade was a 67.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,922 shares of company stock valued at $11,191,812. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.