Capital International Ltd. CA Takes $3.67 Million Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Capital International Ltd. CA bought a new stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 11,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,665,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its position in shares of Eaton by 142.9% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded up $4.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $297.79. 2,818,274 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,066,060. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $191.82 and a 1 year high of $345.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $322.30 and a 200 day moving average of $303.25.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ETN shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Eaton from $316.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.06.

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.