Public Sector Pension Investment Board Reduces Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lessened its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 19.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 418,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 98,633 shares during the period. Eaton accounts for 0.8% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.10% of Eaton worth $131,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Breakwater Investment Management lifted its holdings in Eaton by 1,560.0% during the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 142.9% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $330.60 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.17 billion, a PE ratio of 39.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $299.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.71. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $191.82 and a 12 month high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $337.41.

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.