Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Position Boosted by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 26.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 239,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned 0.06% of Eaton worth $48,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the second quarter worth $28,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 81.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 1,869 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total transaction of $423,664.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,684,459.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Thomas B. Okray sold 4,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.09, for a total transaction of $1,143,895.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,702,440.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 1,869 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total transaction of $423,664.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,684,459.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Eaton from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Eaton from $228.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $185.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Eaton from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.23.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $226.45. The company had a trading volume of 461,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,063,275. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.17. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $150.86 and a one year high of $240.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $90.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.13. Eaton had a net margin of 13.24% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The company had revenue of $5.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 9.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 24th. Investors of record on Monday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 3rd. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.05%.

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.