Swedbank AB Purchases 3,066 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.2% in the second quarter, owning a total of 52,814 shares worth $17.5 million after acquiring 3,066 additional shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Charles Schwab, have also boosted their holdings in Rockwell Automation, with institutional investors owning 75.75% of the stock.
• Rockwell Automation's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.82, exceeding analysts' estimates, and revenue growth of 4.5% year-over-year.

Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,814 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,066 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $17,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,396,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $360,777,000 after purchasing an additional 4,972 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.0% in the first 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 valued at $302,307,000 after purchasing an additional 11,849 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total transaction of $1,068,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,272,903.52. This trade represents a 24.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 24,400 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 83,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,366,453.49. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,922 shares of company stock worth $11,191,812. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:ROK opened at $347.78 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $346.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.36. 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 company has a market cap of $39.10 billion, a PE ratio of 40.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $392.00 price target (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 14th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.16.

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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