Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Position Increased by Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 439.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,504 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,224 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Eaton were worth $9,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $297,000. Bearing Point Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $2,713,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in Eaton by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Eaton by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. increased its holdings in Eaton by 128.3% during the 4th quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 3,069 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN traded down $4.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $320.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,787,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,669,305. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $318.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $125.35 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $231.85 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total value of $15,593,423.22. Following the completion of the sale, 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $367.83.

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.