Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Acquired by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 429,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 23,702 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Eaton were worth $116,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $1,495,582,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 27,281.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,593,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $976,772,000 after buying an additional 3,580,198 shares during the period. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $523,541,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 42,255.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $243,036,000 after buying an additional 730,594 shares during the period. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $231,552,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 0.4%

Eaton stock opened at $325.56 on Thursday. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $301.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $315.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 41.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total value of $33,400,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 490,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ETN. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.78.

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.