Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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 valued at $1,611,915,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006,706 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,135,000 after acquiring an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $4,092,891,000 after acquiring an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at about $118,345,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $250,461,000 after acquiring an additional 388,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $262.08 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $312.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $265.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.57. The firm has a market cap of $29.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.37. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.80.

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.