Board of the Pension Protection Fund Trims Stock Holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund cut its stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 39.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund's holdings in Eaton were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 978 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 5,314 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,764,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,587 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 1.0% during 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 during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ETN shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Eaton from $306.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $368.78.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total value of $33,400,106.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 490,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $158,214,632. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of ETN traded up $4.40 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $357.63. The company had a trading volume of 2,212,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,663,496. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $319.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $312.18. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $139.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.16. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 1 year low of $231.85 and a 1 year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's payout ratio is 41.98%.

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.