Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Grows Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 24.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,611,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006,706 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after acquiring an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at $118,345,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 82.4% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,461,000 after purchasing an additional 388,400 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.80.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $262.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $265.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $270.85. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.