First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Trims Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. decreased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 22.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 664 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $4,092,891,000 after acquiring an additional 438,356 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,611,915,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006,706 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,912,000 after buying an additional 365,795 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 955,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $278,387,000 after buying an additional 54,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 82.4% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,461,000 after buying an additional 388,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.47.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $272.82 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $264.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $312.76.

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

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board 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.