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

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 195,521 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 13,196 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $53,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ETN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,495,582,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 27,281.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $523,541,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $231,552,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 588,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ETN. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $306.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $369.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE ETN traded down $3.55 on Monday, reaching $358.67. 1,800,538 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,665,214. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business's fifty day moving average price is $326.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $312.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. Eaton Corporation, 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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 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 posted $2.40 earnings per share. Eaton's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's payout ratio is presently 41.98%.

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.