Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 154,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,117 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $55,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total transaction of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $461.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.35 billion, a PE ratio of 47.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $461.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $419.67. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $305.44 and a 12 month high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $501.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $469.33.

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.