Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 2,460 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $17,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Eaton by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. BCS Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,205,000 after buying an additional 7,964 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $2,958,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth $479,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup upped their target price on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 in the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $312.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $299.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.53. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $161.12 and a 52-week high of $331.47. The company has a market cap of $124.96 billion, a PE ratio of 38.67, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.88%.

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.