Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.2% during the second quarter, now owning approximately 0.89% of the company valued at $334.35 million.
• Rockwell Automation exceeded earnings expectations by reporting an EPS of $2.82 for the last quarter, significantly beating the consensus estimate of $2.67.
• The stock has attracted positive attention from analysts, with multiple upgrades leading to a current consensus target price of $347.94 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,006,575 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,262 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.89% of Rockwell Automation worth $334,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $281,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 15.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,720 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 46,736 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,076,000 after buying an additional 994 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 32.5% during the first quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 110.2% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,254 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,358,000 after buying an additional 2,754 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $361.10 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $345.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.44. 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 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $360.92. The company has a market cap of $40.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.41.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. CICC Research assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $347.94.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,435 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.08, for a total transaction of $499,494.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,318,178.96. This trade represents a 27.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 365 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.44, for a total value of $127,180.60. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $589,212.04. This represents a 17.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,553 shares of company stock worth $10,361,079. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation 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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