American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 1,013 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 11.9% in the second quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 971 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 20.7% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 122,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,994 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.1% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 210,774 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,022,000 after acquiring an additional 12,194 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 14.1% during the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andra AP fonden increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 62,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,150,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $258.04 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $269.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.01 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.