Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Acquired by GHP Investment Advisors Inc.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,482 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $12,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 5,006,706 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 32.0% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,912,000 after acquiring an additional 365,795 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 955,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $278,387,000 after purchasing an additional 54,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 388,400 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.4 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $258.00 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $265.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.02. The company has a market capitalization of $29.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.37. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.09%. 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. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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