Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Takes Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 20,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,869,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Amarillo National Bank boosted its holdings in Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 1,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its position in Eaton by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 17,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,220,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. GSG Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Down 1.9 %

ETN stock opened at $303.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.81, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $300.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.56. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $161.12 and a one year high of $331.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

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

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.