Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 137,099 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) by 61.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 137,099 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Eaton were worth $23,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,351,506,000 after buying an additional 99,291 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,051,807,000 after buying an additional 182,455 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,714,677,000 after buying an additional 129,071 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,550,226,000 after buying an additional 192,482 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,518,207,000 after buying an additional 368,241 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total value of $33,400,106.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 490,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $331.34 on Friday. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $310.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.22. The company has a market capitalization of $129.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 41.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.78.

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.