Forsta AP Fonden Lowers Stock Holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC by 2.4%, now holding 99,400 shares valued at $27,020,000.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Eaton, with Royal Bank of Canada raising its target from $336.00 to $356.00 and several others giving "buy" ratings.
• Eaton announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, leading to an annualized yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 41.85%.

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its position in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,400 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Eaton were worth $27,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,071 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. AGH Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. AGH Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 951 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Eaton from $375.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $396.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Eaton from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $383.63.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN traded up $2.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $363.07. 2,139,096 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,661,468. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 52-week low of $231.85 and a 52-week high of $399.56. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $354.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $318.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $141.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.85%.

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.