Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 13,275 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,275 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Eaton were worth $26,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,043,000. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Eaton by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 99,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,074,000 after acquiring an additional 13,668 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 2,859 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $335.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total value of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,328. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,858,328. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326 in the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN stock traded down $0.75 on Friday, reaching $284.97. 2,163,854 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,172,430. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $191.82 and a 1 year high of $345.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $302.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.18. The company has a market cap of $113.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. Equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

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.