Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Has $53.20 Million Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 198,148 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 652 shares during the quarter. Rockwell Automation makes up approximately 2.5% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $53,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $682,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 31,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,852,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 579,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,772,000 after acquiring an additional 23,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $271.16 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The stock has a market cap of $30.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $262.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.07.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced 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. 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $3.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $283.60.

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.