Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $8.61 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 91.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 338,199 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $8,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after buying an additional 438,356 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the 1st 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 during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,912,000 after purchasing an additional 365,795 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.1% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 955,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $278,387,000 after purchasing an additional 54,948 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 82.4% in the first 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 during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America decreased 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.80.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $261.60 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.02. The company has a market capitalization of $29.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during 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%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.01 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.