Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 20,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,869,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 36.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,248,960,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270,331 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $798,119,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 122,471.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,619,350 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $411,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,617,213 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,542,343 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,968,521,000 after acquiring an additional 2,602,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $340,500,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Eaton from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $295.60.

Eaton Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of ETN stock traded down $5.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $303.02. 3,084,670 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,164,310. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $161.12 and a 12 month high of $331.47. The company has a market cap of $121.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company's 50-day moving average price is $300.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.88.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. Eaton's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Eaton's payout ratio is 46.88%.

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.