Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 197 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Eaton were worth $9,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,595,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,812,966,000 after purchasing an additional 259,615 shares during the period. Coatue Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 3,986,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $960,016,000 after purchasing an additional 195,809 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Eaton by 323.8% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $998,255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,270 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Eaton by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,029,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $488,815,000 after purchasing an additional 337,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Eaton by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,480,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $356,535,000 after purchasing an additional 19,529 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $337.41.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $314.65 on Thursday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $191.82 and a 12 month high of $345.19. The stock has a market cap of $125.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $299.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.35 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.39%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,858,328. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Eaton news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,858,328. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,161.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Company 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.