Saturna Capital Corp Grows Holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Saturna Capital Corp increased its position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) by 52.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 202,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,130 shares during the quarter. Saturna Capital Corp owned about 0.05% of Eaton worth $55,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,839,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $4,265,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $380.49 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $337.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $314.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.31. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a fifty-two week low of $231.85 and a fifty-two week high of $387.50.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released 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 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $396.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Eaton from $355.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price target on Eaton from $351.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.89.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the firm’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 value of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.