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

DMC Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $5,908,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,968,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,429,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BetterWealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $278.97 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $288.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

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.