Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Has $13.10 Million Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC boosted its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $13,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,351,506,000 after purchasing an additional 99,291 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Eaton by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,051,807,000 after buying an additional 182,455 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eaton by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,714,677,000 after buying an additional 129,071 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eaton by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,550,226,000 after buying an additional 192,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Eaton by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,518,207,000 after buying an additional 368,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total transaction of $15,593,423.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 489,444 shares in the company, valued at $149,490,880.92. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $355.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $306.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.78.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $324.33 on Wednesday. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $231.85 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $300.21 and its 200-day moving average is $315.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.14, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.04 dividend. 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%.

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.