Ethic Inc. Raises Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 27.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,761 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $12,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $1,495,582,000. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $523,541,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted 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 last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 539,673 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $193,421,000 after purchasing an additional 429,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Eaton by 3,508.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $133,321,000 after acquiring an additional 390,595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $330.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,112,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,594,629. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $231.85 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.15 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $284.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $319.88.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Eaton's payout ratio is presently 41.98%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ETN. Melius downgraded Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $361.13.

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.