Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 135,557 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 46.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 426,573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 135,557 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.37% of Rockwell Automation worth $117,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Security National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.80.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK opened at $261.58 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $265.23 and its 200 day moving average is $270.14. 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 company has a market cap of $29.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.37. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.01 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.