National Pension Service Buys 74,188 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its holdings in Eaton Corporation by 8.9%, acquiring 74,188 additional shares, bringing its total ownership to 904,313 shares valued at approximately $245.8 million.
• Several research firms have raised their target prices for Eaton, with the average target price reaching $383.63 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts.
• Eaton is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.04 on August 22nd, which translates to an annualized yield of 1.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of 41.85%.

National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 904,313 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 74,188 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.23% of Eaton worth $245,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,472,231,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 27,281.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,593,321 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $976,772,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580,198 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $523,541,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its position in Eaton by 606.3% in the first quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,025,903 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $282,262,000 after buying an additional 880,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $231,552,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 16,018 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.39, for a total value of $5,740,691.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $225,785.70. This trade represents a 96.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ETN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $396.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $355.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.63.

Eaton Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE ETN traded down $4.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $350.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,899,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,058,462. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $399.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $357.73 and a 200 day moving average of $318.48.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.03. Eaton had a net margin of 15.11% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.73 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.85%.

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.