Rockland Trust Co. Grows Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $7,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 951.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,611,915,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006,706 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the second 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,092,891,000 after purchasing an additional 438,356 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at $118,345,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $250,461,000 after buying an additional 388,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $264.86 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The company has a market capitalization of $30.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $263.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.79. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.80.

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.