Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 473,072 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,796 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Eaton worth $128,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Eaton by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,351,506,000 after acquiring an additional 99,291 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,051,807,000 after purchasing an additional 182,455 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,714,677,000 after purchasing an additional 129,071 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,550,226,000 after purchasing an additional 192,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,518,207,000 after purchasing an additional 368,241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Eaton Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Eaton stock traded up $3.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $361.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,088,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,668,688. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $326.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $312.79. The company has a market capitalization of $141.64 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 52 week low of $231.85 and a 52 week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 23.41%. Eaton's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $369.06.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 3,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 490,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.