Intech Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 86.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 127,376 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 959 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,110,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 101,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,496,000 after purchasing an additional 3,151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.80.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $261.60 on Friday. The stock 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $265.23 and its 200 day moving average is $270.02. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.01 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.