Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Raises Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,627 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 6,553 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Eaton were worth $20,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ethic Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 36,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,125,000 after buying an additional 7,761 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its position in Eaton by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 26,670 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,851,000 after buying an additional 1,449 shares during the period. FWL Investment Management LLC grew its position in Eaton by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC now owns 22,852 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,584,000 after buying an additional 1,643 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 3,076 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,021,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Eaton by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,554,271 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $515,816,000 after buying an additional 239,839 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of ETN traded up $2.58 on Friday, hitting $329.40. 1,997,137 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,663,514. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $128.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. The stock's 50 day moving average is $287.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.55. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $231.85 and a 1 year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ETN shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $366.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 490,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.