California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 25,239 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 729,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 25,239 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Eaton were worth $175,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded up $4.83 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $312.92. 800,103 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,898,719. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $161.12 and a 52-week high of $331.47. The stock has a market cap of $125.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $301.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $255.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares in the company, valued at $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays raised shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.60.

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.