Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 8,820 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

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

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ROK stock opened at $299.27 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.50. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $33.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,240 shares of company stock worth $10,800,555. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.