Generali Investments Management Co LLC Makes New Investment in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,355 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $1,495,582,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at about $523,541,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 42,255.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $243,036,000 after buying an additional 730,594 shares during the period. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $231,552,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ETN. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Eaton from $306.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.78.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total value of $33,400,106.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 490,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:ETN traded down $5.84 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $325.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,621,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,645,508. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $298.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $315.95. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.