PGGM Investments Lowers Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

PGGM Investments lowered its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 32.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,091 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Eaton were worth $721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 142.9% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their target price on Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus upped their price objective on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Eaton in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.53.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of ETN opened at $280.26 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $191.82 and a 1-year high of $345.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $317.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $305.49. The stock has a market cap of $112.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. Equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Eaton Profile

Eaton Corporation plc operates as a power management company worldwide. The company's Electrical Americas and Electrical Global segment provides electrical components, industrial components, power distribution and assemblies, residential products, single and three phase power quality and connectivity products, wiring devices, circuit protection products, utility power distribution products, power reliability equipment, and services, as well as hazardous duty electrical equipment, emergency lighting, fire detection, explosion-proof instrumentation, and structural support systems.