Groupe la Francaise Cuts Stock Holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC $ETN

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise cut its Eaton stake by 43% in the second quarter, selling 122,237 shares and retaining 161,748 shares worth approximately $68.1 million. Institutional investors still own 82.97% of Eaton.
• Eaton exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted earnings of $3.15 per share and revenue of $8.53 billion, up 21.4% year over year. The company guided for third-quarter 2026 EPS of $3.46–$3.56 and full-year EPS of $13.40–$13.60.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with Eaton carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $442. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 1.1%.

Groupe la Francaise reduced its stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 43.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,748 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 122,237 shares during the quarter. Eaton makes up 0.8% of Groupe la Francaise's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Eaton were worth $68,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Eaton by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 5.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,402 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the second quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Finally, Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 70.1% during the second quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 130 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $455.90 per share, with a total value of $59,267.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $833,841.10. This represents a 7.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Adam A. Wadecki sold 525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.54, for a total value of $231,283.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $464,329.16. This represents a 33.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $411.08 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $159.66 billion, a PE ratio of 41.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.17. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 52 week low of $311.92 and a 52 week high of $478.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $415.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $398.26.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.16 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 24.58%. The company's revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. Eaton has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.460-3.560 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 13.400-13.600 EPS. Research analysts predict that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 13.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Eaton's payout ratio is presently 44.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Eaton from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Evercore raised shares of Eaton from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $502.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $484.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $442.00.

Trending Headlines about Eaton

Here are the key news stories impacting Eaton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Eaton plans to invest more than $242 million in a 1-million-square-foot facility in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The plant is expected to double Fibrebond’s U.S. capacity for customized electrical enclosures and create approximately 1,200 jobs, helping address supply constraints tied to data centers, utilities and broader electrification. Eaton to Boost U.S. Power Capacity With $242M Arkansas Plant
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst valuation work raised Eaton’s estimated fair value to $475.57 from $464.59, citing AI-related data-center demand, a strong project backlog and improved visibility into electrical-sector growth. Several published price targets are above the revised valuation. Eaton Stock Gets Fair Value Bump As Analysts Back AI Data Center Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Recent results showed continued operating momentum: Eaton beat quarterly earnings expectations, reported revenue growth of 21.4% year over year and issued third-quarter and full-year 2026 earnings guidance that supports the bullish growth narrative.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Paulo Ruiz will discuss Eaton’s growth strategy, portfolio transformation and demand across data centers, utilities and aerospace at Morgan Stanley’s Laguna Conference on September 16. The event could provide additional guidance on orders and execution. Eaton to Participate in the Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: High trading volume in Eaton put options indicates some investors are hedging or positioning for weakness, but options activity alone does not establish a clear directional signal. Investors Buy High Volume of Eaton Put Options
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary warns that Eaton’s strong secular growth story is already reflected in a relatively demanding valuation, potentially limiting further gains. Separately, Vertiv’s acquisition of UtilityInnovation Group highlights increasing competition to solve data-center power bottlenecks. Eaton Strong Secular Growth, But Valuation Limits Upside

Eaton Profile

Eaton NYSE: ETN is a diversified power management company that designs, manufactures and distributes products and systems to manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company's offerings are used to improve energy efficiency, reliability and safety across a wide range of applications, with core capabilities in electrical distribution and control, industrial hydraulics and aerospace systems.

Its product portfolio includes switchgear, circuit breakers, transformers, power distribution units, uninterruptible power supplies and surge protection devices for electrical infrastructure, along with hydraulic pumps, valves and filtration systems for industrial and mobile equipment.

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