Sunbelt Securities Inc. Boosts Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 7,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Eaton by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 61,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,244,000 after acquiring an additional 3,361 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Eaton by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 93,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,168,000 after acquiring an additional 17,224 shares during the period. Ascension Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at about $776,000. Finally, Silver Lake Advisory LLC increased its position in Eaton by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC now owns 9,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,020,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total value of $950,584.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,186,411.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ETN. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $337.41.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $331.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $132.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $301.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.04. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $191.82 and a 1-year high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

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.