Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 9,221 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 314,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,221 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $75,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 in the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN traded up $7.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $324.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,305,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,383,996. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $162.04 and a 1-year high of $331.47. The firm has a market cap of $129.56 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $304.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $258.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s payout ratio is 46.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ETN. Mizuho boosted their price target on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays upgraded Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America upped their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.60.

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.