Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Grows Stock Position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 109,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 3,502 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for about 0.8% of Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $29,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,495,582,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 27,281.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,593,321 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $976,772,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580,198 shares during the period. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $523,541,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $231,552,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,007,570 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $998,144,000 after purchasing an additional 588,370 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Eaton from $355.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on Eaton from $351.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $377.89.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at $158,214,632. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their position. 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 3,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN traded up $17.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $380.49. 3,686,854 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,675,046. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $336.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 1-year low of $231.85 and a 1-year high of $381.75.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

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.