Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Trims Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,275 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Eaton were worth $26,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $236,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 140.7% during the second quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,841 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 12.0% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 6.2% in the second quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,294,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson acquired 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Eaton news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson acquired 2,205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,161.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,186,411.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326 in the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Stock Down 0.3 %

Eaton stock traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $284.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,163,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,172,430. The stock has a market cap of $113.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $191.82 and a 1 year high of $345.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $302.48 and a 200 day moving average of $311.18.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $335.76.

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.