New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Purchases 2,400 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 11.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Eaton were worth $7,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,087,983,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2,006.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 964,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,326,000 after acquiring an additional 918,936 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $181,411,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 207.5% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 970,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,698,000 after acquiring an additional 654,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,029,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $488,815,000 after acquiring an additional 337,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $313.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,557,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,258,211. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.36 billion, a PE ratio of 37.02, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.04. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $191.82 and a 52 week high of $345.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $325.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.72.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ETN shares. Argus upped their target price on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Raymond James assumed coverage on Eaton in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.06.

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.