Wesbanco Bank Inc. Lowers Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 338 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $284.80.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.1 %

ROK stock opened at $272.31 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.67. The company has a market capitalization of $31.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76.

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

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.