Sanders Morris Harris LLC Makes New Investment in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Running Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 6.8% in the first quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 39,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,490,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Eaton during the first quarter valued at $450,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its stake in Eaton by 7.5% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 571,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $178,568,000 after acquiring an additional 40,060 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. purchased a new position in Eaton during the first quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, SignalPoint Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 1st quarter worth $230,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN traded down $3.18 on Friday, hitting $320.06. 3,068,313 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,008,826. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $191.82 and a 1-year high of $345.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $324.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.96 billion, a PE ratio of 37.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.04.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.27.

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.