Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,499 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 8,820 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of Rockwell Automation worth $61,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK traded down $7.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $295.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 611,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 841,895. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $286.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.84. The firm has a market cap of $33.44 billion, a PE ratio of 36.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $308.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,000. This trade represents a 21.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.