Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV Cuts Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV decreased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 15.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 529 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 951.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,611,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006,706 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,135,000 after buying an additional 700,745 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after acquiring an additional 438,356 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth $118,345,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 82.4% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,461,000 after acquiring an additional 388,400 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $267.01 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. The firm has a market cap of $30.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $262.95 and a 200 day moving average of $268.72.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.01 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.80.

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.