Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys 279 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,003,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 186.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,292,000 after acquiring an additional 9,596 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 60,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,485,000 after acquiring an additional 3,425 shares in the last quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 384,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $119,437,000 after acquiring an additional 9,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 65,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,258,000 after acquiring an additional 13,018 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.80.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $268.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $265.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $270.32. The stock has a market cap of $30.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management 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.