US Bancorp DE Trims Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. by 1.7% in the second quarter, owning 75,624 shares worth approximately $25 million after selling 1,318 shares.
• CEO Blake D. Moret sold 24,400 shares of Rockwell Automation at an average price of $350.13, decreasing his ownership by 22.54%.
• Rockwell Automation reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.82, surpassing analyst expectations and showing a 4.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.

US Bancorp DE trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,624 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,318 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned 0.07% of Rockwell Automation worth $25,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $281,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 122.6% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth $232,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 15.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,720 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth $228,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 24,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 83,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,366,453.49. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,435 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.08, for a total value of $499,494.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,318,178.96. This represents a 27.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,922 shares of company stock valued at $11,191,812 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $333.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.41. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $343.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $314.40.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.68.

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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