Diversified Trust Co Sells 827 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Diversified Trust Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 827 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,092,891,000 after acquiring an additional 438,356 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,006,706 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $439,912,000 after acquiring an additional 365,795 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 955,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $278,387,000 after acquiring an additional 54,948 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.4 %

ROK opened at $266.16 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $312.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $262.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $268.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.09%. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.01 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ROK. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America dropped 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price 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. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $283.60.

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.