Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 10,117 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its Rockwell Automation stake by 6.2% in the first quarter, selling 10,117 shares and leaving it with 154,025 shares valued at about $55.3 million.
• Rockwell Automation saw notable insider selling, including transactions by SVP Christopher Nardecchia and VP Terry L. Riesterer, while insiders sold 9,361 shares over the last three months in total.
• The company posted strong quarterly results with EPS of $3.30 versus $2.88 expected, and its board authorized a $1 billion share buyback; analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $469.33.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 154,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,117 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.14% of Rockwell Automation worth $55,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 906,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $352,572,000 after purchasing an additional 891,153 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $156,017,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,545,104 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $601,154,000 after purchasing an additional 309,316 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,666.2% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 321,722 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $112,451,000 after purchasing an additional 303,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total transaction of $1,133,039.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at $6,353,591.76. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $469.33.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $461.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $305.44 and a 52-week high of $497.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $461.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $419.67.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.

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