MCF Advisors LLC Purchases 412 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 52.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,774 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,887,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5.6% during the first quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 2,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth about $242,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.8 %

ROK stock traded up $2.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $269.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 380,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,659. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $265.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.29. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month 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 stock has a market capitalization of $30.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.