Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 22,518 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 479,868 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 22,518 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Eaton worth $159,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Eaton by 83.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position in shares of Eaton by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Eaton by 621.4% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho upped their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Melius Research reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $366.05.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN traded down $11.71 on Friday, hitting $297.11. 4,399,446 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,361,916. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $331.97 and a 200-day moving average of $332.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The stock has a market cap of $117.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.