Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 314,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,221 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.08% of Eaton worth $75,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 directly 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 sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.60.

Eaton Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:ETN traded up $7.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $324.30. 2,305,692 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,383,996. The company has a fifty day moving average of $304.82 and a 200 day moving average of $258.60. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $129.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

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

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.