Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 9,600 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC $ETN

Key Points

• The Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Eaton Corporation by 17.0%, owning 46,805 shares after selling 9,600 during the first quarter.
• Eaton reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $7.03 billion—up 10.7% year-over-year.
• A recent dividend of $1.04 per share was announced, yielding 1.2% annually, with a payout ratio of 41.85%.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its stake in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,805 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,600 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Eaton were worth $12,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN stock traded up $2.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $353.63. 1,158,486 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,046,284. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $399.56. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $358.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $318.70. The company has a market capitalization of $137.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.58, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.18.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.73 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Eaton's payout ratio is presently 41.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $340.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $383.63.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 16,018 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.39, for a total transaction of $5,740,691.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $225,785.70. The trade was a 96.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.