Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 25.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,894 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $35,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Breakwater Investment Management raised its holdings in Eaton by 1,560.0% during the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the second quarter valued at $29,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $377.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $149.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $342.75 and its 200 day moving average is $322.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $224.52 and a 1-year high of $378.00.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $374.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total value of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,186,411.68. This trade represents a 44.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,705 shares of company stock valued at $24,516,346. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.