Public Sector Pension Investment Board Boosts Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 465,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 46,720 shares during the period. Eaton accounts for about 0.8% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.12% of Eaton worth $154,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ETN. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Eaton by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,206,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,005,317,000 after acquiring an additional 18,077 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,422,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $471,370,000 after purchasing an additional 40,078 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 27,075.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,073,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $355,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,024 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 923,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,930,000 after purchasing an additional 74,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 865,820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $286,967,000 after purchasing an additional 99,381 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,981 shares of company stock worth $24,100,317 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup began coverage on Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.83.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $371.97 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $224.52 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $346.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $323.89. The stock has a market cap of $147.00 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Eaton Company 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.