Griffin Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $813,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ETN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,087,983,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 2,006.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 964,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,326,000 after buying an additional 918,936 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $181,411,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 207.5% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 970,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,698,000 after buying an additional 654,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,029,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $488,815,000 after buying an additional 337,351 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Barclays upgraded Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $355.00 price target (up from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.06.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 0.1 %

ETN stock opened at $313.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $125.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.02, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $325.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.72. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $191.82 and a 52 week high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

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.