Financial Counselors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 195,521 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,196 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $53,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,495,582,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 27,281.9% during 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 buying an additional 3,580,198 shares during the period. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at about $523,541,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at about $231,552,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,007,570 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $998,144,000 after purchasing an additional 588,370 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, the insider owned 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,214,632. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Eaton Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ETN traded down $3.03 on Tuesday, reaching $355.46. 418,079 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,656,636. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 12 month low of $231.85 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $327.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $312.77. The company has a market cap of $139.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

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

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's payout ratio is 41.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $369.06.

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.