Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Bought by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 230.4% in the third quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 2,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 22,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,080,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after acquiring an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 5,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 77.2% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.47.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $269.86 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $265.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $267.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. 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 announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.