Drystone LLC Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 20,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,908,000. Rockwell Automation accounts for 5.9% of Drystone LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $1,968,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $1,429,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. BetterWealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total value of $82,620.27. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $856,111.83. The trade was a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $278.97 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $288.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.53 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.