Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 15,720 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Eaton Corporation by 3.8%, selling 15,720 shares to own 396,310 shares valued at approximately $107.87 million.
• Eaton reported a quarterly EPS of $2.95, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $7.03 billion, a 10.7% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.1%, with an ex-dividend date set for August 7th.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 396,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,720 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of Eaton worth $107,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Eaton by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,507,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,195,725,000 after buying an additional 289,819 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,472,231,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Eaton by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,985,735 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,083,442,000 after purchasing an additional 427,509 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Eaton from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 16,018 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.39, for a total value of $5,740,691.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $225,785.70. This represents a 96.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Eaton Stock Down 1.2%

ETN traded down $4.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $350.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,899,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,058,462. The company has a market capitalization of $136.59 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.18. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a one year low of $231.85 and a one year high of $399.56. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $357.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $318.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.85%.

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.