Machina Capital S.A.S. Sells 2,777 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Machina Capital S.A.S. reduced its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 38.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,777 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,058,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,669,781,000 after purchasing an additional 207,448 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $950,744,000 after buying an additional 48,105 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth $368,575,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,006,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $334,354,000 after buying an additional 12,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 128.9% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 866,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,989,000 after acquiring an additional 488,262 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE ROK opened at $430.35 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $406.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $371.99. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $438.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.40. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $439.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $410.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 804 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.05, for a total value of $323,248.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,355,208.90. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.48, for a total value of $58,762.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $1,785,803.76. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,531 shares of company stock worth $10,259,637. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Profile

Rockwell Automation is a global industrial automation and digital transformation company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm designs, manufactures and supports control systems, industrial control hardware and software, and related services that help manufacturers and industrial operators automate processes, improve productivity and enable data-driven decision making. Rockwell traces its heritage to the Allen-Bradley and Rockwell automation businesses and positions itself as a provider of integrated automation solutions across discrete and process industries.

The company’s product portfolio includes programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human-machine interfaces (HMIs), variable frequency drives, sensors, safety components and other industrial control hardware, often marketed under the Allen-Bradley brand.