Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,104 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 19,090 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.06% of Eaton worth $73,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Breakwater Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1,560.0% in the second quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 83.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the period. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Eaton in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho increased 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $382.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $367.83.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN traded down $2.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $356.18. 1,165,020 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,082,403. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $355.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $326.59. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $231.84 and a 12-month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton's payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,981 shares of company stock valued at $24,100,317. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

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.