Investment Management Corp of Ontario Boosts Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 38.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,159 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Eaton were worth $6,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its stake in Eaton by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on ETN shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Melius downgraded Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.13.

Eaton Stock Up 1.0 %

ETN opened at $310.01 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $231.85 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99. The company has a market capitalization of $121.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $282.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $320.13.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 41.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total transaction of $15,593,423.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 489,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.