USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 5,500 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd has decreased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 19.4%, selling 5,500 shares and now holding 22,812 shares valued at approximately $5.89 million.
• Institutional investors currently own 75.75% of Rockwell Automation, with notable transactions including GAMMA Investing increasing its position by 29,844.4% during the same quarter.
• Rockwell Automation reported $2.82 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $2.14 billion, up 4.5% year-over-year.

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 19.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,812 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,500 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,652 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 7,708 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,992,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Kelly Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.4% in the first quarter. Kelly Financial Services LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.1% in the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,097 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ROK. CICC Research began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 price objective on Rockwell Automation and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America raised Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.16.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK stock traded down $5.57 on Friday, reaching $344.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 545,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 762,274. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $360.92. The company has a market capitalization of $38.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.49, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $345.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.01.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total value of $1,068,180.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $87,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $581,700. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,922 shares of company stock valued at $11,191,812 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by 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.