Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stake Boosted by Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $1,495,582,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 27,281.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,593,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $976,772,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580,198 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at $523,541,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 42,255.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $243,036,000 after purchasing an additional 730,594 shares during the period. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at $231,552,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total value of $33,400,106.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 490,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eaton Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE:ETN opened at $325.61 on Tuesday. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $231.85 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $315.59.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 41.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. Wall Street Zen raised Eaton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 18th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Eaton from $306.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.78.

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.