Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,651 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Eaton were worth $17,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ETN. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Fragasso Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Wendell David Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $297.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,208,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,060,330. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $322.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $304.13. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $191.82 and a one year high of $345.19. The company has a market cap of $118.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.