Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 1,033 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $9,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings 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 worth $1,611,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006,706 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $4,092,891,000 after purchasing an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth $118,345,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 82.4% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,461,000 after purchasing an additional 388,400 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $272.82 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $264.95 and its 200 day moving average is $267.67. The company has a market capitalization of $31.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ROK. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird decreased 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 note on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.47.

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.