Kentucky Retirement Systems Reduces Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,734 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,393 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Eaton were worth $9,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Breakwater Investment Management increased its position in shares of Eaton by 1,560.0% during the second quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of ETN stock opened at $358.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $335.82 and a 200 day moving average of $321.35. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $224.52 and a twelve month high of $373.49. The stock has a market cap of $141.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. Eaton’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Eaton in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.83.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total value of $950,584.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,186,411.68. The trade was a 44.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karenann K. Terrell purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,485. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 68,705 shares of company stock valued at $24,516,346. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.