Marshall Wace LLP Purchases 4,713 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 70.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,713 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $3,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.7% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.4 %

ROK stock opened at $266.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $263.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.82. The company has a market cap of $30.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36.

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.80.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.