Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 220,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,660 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.19% of Rockwell Automation worth $59,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 9,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,987,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,964,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 49.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,824 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 15,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,730,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 132.9% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 14,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,584,000 after buying an additional 8,425 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report 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 research note on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America dropped 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. Finally, TD Cowen decreased 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.80.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded up $2.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $267.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 415,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 906,143. The firm has a market cap of $30.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $262.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $268.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.09%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.