Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) Position Raised by Avalon Trust Co

Avalon Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) by 20.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Eaton were worth $81,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ETN. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in 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 worth $976,772,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580,198 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $523,541,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $231,552,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Eaton by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,007,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $998,144,000 after acquiring an additional 588,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $145,077,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $381.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $149.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a fifty-two week low of $231.85 and a fifty-two week high of $399.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $350.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.42.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Insider Activity

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at $158,214,632. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $396.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $351.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.89.

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.