Legal & General Group Plc Raises Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,206,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 18,077 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.80% of Eaton worth $1,005,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Breakwater Investment Management increased its position in Eaton by 1,560.0% in the second quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 142.9% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, Director Karenann K. Terrell bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $149,485. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Eaton news, Director Karenann K. Terrell acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $298.97 per share, for a total transaction of $149,485.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,485. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total transaction of $14,762,020.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of ETN opened at $333.02 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $191.82 and a 1-year high of $345.19. The company has a market capitalization of $132.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.32, 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $300.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $313.23.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.35 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $337.41.

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.