Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,796 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 473,072 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,796 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Eaton worth $128,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 39.3% in the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 9,233 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 2,604 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 7.3% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 134,574 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,581,000 after buying an additional 9,198 shares during the period. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.7% in the first quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,355 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Eaton by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 8,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,333,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the first quarter worth approximately $7,218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ETN shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Six equities research 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $369.06.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock traded up $3.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $361.98. 1,088,135 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,664,244. The company has a market capitalization of $141.64 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $326.36 and a 200 day moving average of $312.94. 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 issued 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. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. 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.