Hartford Investment Management Co. Reduces Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 69.2% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,774 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,887,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,558 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 98.6% in the 1st quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 2,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 1,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $267.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $265.56 and its 200 day moving average is $267.37. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.01 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

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

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.