Stevens Capital Management LP Takes Position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP has made a new investment in Eaton Corporation, purchasing 2,692 shares for approximately $732,000.
• Institutional investors own 82.97% of Eaton’s stock, with several firms recently increasing their positions.
• Eaton’s recent earnings topped estimates, reporting $2.72 earnings per share and revenues of $6.38 billion for the latest quarter.

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,692 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $732,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,051,807,000 after acquiring an additional 182,455 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 129,071 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,550,226,000 after buying an additional 192,482 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Eaton by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,518,207,000 after buying an additional 368,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,495,582,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ETN. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on Eaton from $351.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $377.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of Eaton 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN stock traded down $2.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $390.38. The stock had a trading volume of 868,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,053,726. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.17. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 52 week low of $231.85 and a 52 week high of $399.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $345.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $316.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. Eaton's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Eaton's payout ratio is presently 41.98%.

Eaton 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.