Eaton Corporation, PLC $ETN Stake Boosted by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its stake in Eaton by 3.4% in Q3 to 1,256,177 shares (about 0.32% of the company), valued at roughly $474.4 million.
• The stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $392.94 average target; recent analyst moves include HSBC upgrading to Buy with a $400 target while JPMorgan trimmed its target to $406 but kept an overweight view.
• Eaton increased its quarterly dividend to $1.10 (annualized $4.40) from $1.04, yielding about 1.2%.

Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,256,177 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,792 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned approximately 0.32% of Eaton worth $474,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its position in Eaton by 93.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 106,114 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,483,000 after purchasing an additional 51,255 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 370,531 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $132,276,000 after buying an additional 29,900 shares during the last quarter. Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,032,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 218,072 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $81,613,000 after buying an additional 19,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp increased its holdings in Eaton by 1,694.0% in the third quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 14,137 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,291,000 after buying an additional 13,349 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. HSBC upgraded shares of Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $340.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $362.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $406.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $407.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $392.94.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total transaction of $4,178,513.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,729 shares in the company, valued at $10,821,519.54. The trade was a 27.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $355.68 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.97 billion, a PE ratio of 34.00, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.17. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 1 year low of $231.85 and a 1 year high of $408.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $355.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.34.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Eaton had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 25.00%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.07%.

Eaton Company Profile

Eaton NYSE: ETN is a diversified power management company that designs, manufactures and distributes products and systems to manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company's offerings are used to improve energy efficiency, reliability and safety across a wide range of applications, with core capabilities in electrical distribution and control, industrial hydraulics and aerospace systems.

Its product portfolio includes switchgear, circuit breakers, transformers, power distribution units, uninterruptible power supplies and surge protection devices for electrical infrastructure, along with hydraulic pumps, valves and filtration systems for industrial and mobile equipment.

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