Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Acquired by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 252,313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.06% of Eaton worth $60,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stonebrook Private Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,399,000. Omnia Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 24,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,962,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 5,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ETN shares. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays raised shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.60.

Eaton Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE ETN traded up $7.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $324.30. 2,305,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,383,996. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $162.04 and a 12-month high of $331.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $304.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $258.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.56 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

About Eaton

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.