Prospector Partners LLC Has $17.57 Million Position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Key Points

• Prospector Partners LLC reduced its stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC by 9.7%, now holding 64,629 shares valued at approximately $17.57 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Eaton during the fourth quarter, with total institutional ownership reaching nearly 83%.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a positive outlook for Eaton, with a consensus target price of $383.63 and a significant number of buy ratings from analysts.

Prospector Partners LLC lowered its stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,629 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,980 shares during the period. Eaton accounts for 2.0% of Prospector Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Prospector Partners LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $17,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ETN. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,839,000. Capital International Sarl increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 20,861 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $523,541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $383.63.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $350.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.18. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $399.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $358.11 and a 200-day moving average of $318.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.11% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.73 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 16,018 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.39, for a total value of $5,740,691.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $225,785.70. This represents a 96.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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