Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Boosts Position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 25.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Eaton were worth $1,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Eaton by 102.0% during the first quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ETN. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $377.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

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

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock traded down $1.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $378.89. 2,941,019 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,112,079. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 52 week low of $231.85 and a 52 week high of $384.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $314.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.17.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Eaton's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. 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.