Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stock Holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,485 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Eaton were worth $9,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ETN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,351,506,000 after purchasing an additional 99,291 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,051,807,000 after acquiring an additional 182,455 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,714,677,000 after acquiring an additional 129,071 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,550,226,000 after acquiring an additional 192,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Eaton by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,518,207,000 after acquiring an additional 368,241 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Eaton from $306.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $368.78.

Eaton Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of ETN stock traded up $5.60 on Friday, hitting $353.74. The company had a trading volume of 3,704,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,665,307. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock's 50-day moving average is $318.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.49. The firm has a market cap of $138.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.16.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Eaton's payout ratio is 41.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total value of $15,593,423.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 489,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. Corporate insiders own 0.30% 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.