Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 85,031 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 85,031 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $57,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the third quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 1,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.6% in the third quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.3% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.7% in the second quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 1,387 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.03, for a total transaction of $557,615.61. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 4,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,814,763.42. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 1,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.06, for a total value of $682,697.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,905,132. The trade was a 12.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,531 shares of company stock valued at $10,259,637. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $430.35 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $406.96 and a 200-day moving average of $371.99. The company has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $438.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 32.69%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $440.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $410.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $410.12.

Rockwell Automation Profile

Rockwell Automation is a global industrial automation and digital transformation company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm designs, manufactures and supports control systems, industrial control hardware and software, and related services that help manufacturers and industrial operators automate processes, improve productivity and enable data-driven decision making. Rockwell traces its heritage to the Allen-Bradley and Rockwell automation businesses and positions itself as a provider of integrated automation solutions across discrete and process industries.

The company’s product portfolio includes programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human-machine interfaces (HMIs), variable frequency drives, sensors, safety components and other industrial control hardware, often marketed under the Allen-Bradley brand.