Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 37.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 846 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth about $2,003,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 186.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,292,000 after buying an additional 9,596 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.1% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 60,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,485,000 after buying an additional 3,425 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth $2,817,000. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.0% in the first quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 203,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,382,000 after acquiring an additional 9,645 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $284.80.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $275.53 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $263.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.80.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.