Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Cuts Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,108 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Eaton were worth $3,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Eaton by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 12,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,135,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares during the period. First Long Island Investors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $315,000. Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Eaton by 3.4% in the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 27,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,106,000 after buying an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ETN. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lowered Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $374.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.83.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $358.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.87 billion, a PE ratio of 38.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.01. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $224.52 and a 52 week high of $373.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $335.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $321.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karenann K. Terrell bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,485. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,705 shares of company stock worth $24,516,346 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton 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.