Rafferty Asset Management LLC Purchases 3,253 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,587 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,253 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $12,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,051,807,000 after purchasing an additional 182,455 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,714,677,000 after purchasing an additional 129,071 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,550,226,000 after purchasing an additional 192,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,518,207,000 after purchasing an additional 368,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of several research reports. Melius lowered Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.83.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN traded down $1.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $327.96. 1,654,467 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,661,322. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $288.15 and a 200-day moving average of $319.43. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $231.85 and a one year high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $128.33 billion, a PE ratio of 34.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total value of $15,593,423.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 489,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.