Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 6,837 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC significantly increased its stake in Eaton Corporation by 114.0% during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 12,834 shares valued at approximately $3.49 million.
• Eaton reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.95, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues of $7.03 billion marking a 10.7% year-over-year growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.04, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 41.85%.

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 114.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,837 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $3,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 27,281.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,593,321 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $976,772,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580,198 shares during the period. Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $523,541,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 606.3% in the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,025,903 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $282,262,000 after purchasing an additional 880,656 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $231,552,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Eaton by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,007,570 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $998,144,000 after purchasing an additional 588,370 shares in the last quarter. 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 recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Eaton from $355.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $396.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $415.00 target price on shares of Eaton and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $383.63.

Eaton Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ETN traded down $2.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $354.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,894,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,064,055. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $399.56. The stock has a market cap of $138.19 billion, a PE ratio of 35.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.18. The business's 50-day moving average is $357.16 and its 200 day moving average is $318.17. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.11% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 16,018 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 630 shares in the company, valued at $225,785.70. The trade was a 96.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate 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.