MQS Management LLC Makes New $349,000 Investment in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,285 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,351,506,000 after acquiring an additional 99,291 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,051,807,000 after purchasing an additional 182,455 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,714,677,000 after purchasing an additional 129,071 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,550,226,000 after purchasing an additional 192,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,518,207,000 after buying an additional 368,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the firm's 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 approximately $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 490,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ETN. BNP Paribas started coverage on Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $355.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $396.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $377.89.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN stock traded up $0.93 on Wednesday, reaching $363.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,756,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,670,992. The stock has a market cap of $142.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.31. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 1 year low of $231.85 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $314.15.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Eaton's payout ratio is currently 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.