State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 1,200 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 107,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Eaton were worth $35,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,665,342,000 after buying an additional 56,516 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $836,938,000 after acquiring an additional 316,830 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $801,798,000 after acquiring an additional 597,700 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 253.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $753,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,436,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $476,582,000 after purchasing an additional 13,862 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of ETN opened at $277.71 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $325.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $332.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $109.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $364.65.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.