Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 10.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,927 shares during the quarter. Rockwell Automation makes up about 1.4% of Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $8,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% during the first 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 boosted 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 acquiring an additional 700,745 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the first 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 shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at approximately $118,345,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 82.4% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $250,461,000 after purchasing an additional 388,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.80.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $261.58 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $265.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.01 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.