Groupe la Francaise Buys 159,942 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC $ETN

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC by 122.7% in Q1, acquiring an additional 159,942 shares, bringing its total ownership to 290,345 shares.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Eaton, with upgrades from firms like Wells Fargo raising its target to $360.00, while Morgan Stanley set a target of $425.00.
• Eaton recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio of 41.85%.

Groupe la Francaise lifted its stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 122.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 290,345 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 159,942 shares during the period. Eaton comprises about 1.7% of Groupe la Francaise's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Groupe la Francaise owned 0.07% of Eaton worth $79,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 0.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,593,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Bearing Point Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,713,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 4.9% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,505 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $953,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 5.4% during the first quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 5.4% during the first quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 3,145 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating and a $336.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $355.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $379.10.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 16,018 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $225,785.70. This trade represents a 96.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $347.3570 on Friday. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $399.56. The company's 50 day moving average is $360.36 and its 200 day moving average is $319.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $135.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.18.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.93 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.11% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The business's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.73 EPS. Eaton has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.010-3.070 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 11.970-12.170 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.85%.

Eaton 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.

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