Courier Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Courier Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $266.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $30.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $265.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.37. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.09%. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.