Northern Trust Corp Trims Stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC $ETN

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Eaton Corporation by 0.6% in the first quarter, holding about 4.5 million shares valued at approximately $1.24 billion.
• Several analysts upgraded their price targets for Eaton, with Goldman Sachs raising it from $345 to $382, while Citigroup increased its target from $420 to $425.
• Eaton announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.2%, with payments set to commence on August 22nd.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,545,207 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 29,497 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.16% of Eaton worth $1,235,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Bearing Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,713,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,505 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $953,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Eaton by 5.4% in 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 in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ETN. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays increased 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on Eaton from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $383.63.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

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

Eaton Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE ETN opened at $350.87 on Monday. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a one year low of $231.85 and a one year high of $399.56. The business's fifty day moving average is $358.11 and its 200-day moving average is $318.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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