Board of the Pension Protection Fund Makes New $1.10 Million Investment in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,095,000. Eaton accounts for 1.3% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Eaton by 48.9% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,533,000 after purchasing an additional 13,497 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP raised its holdings in Eaton by 82.7% during the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 151,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,571,000 after buying an additional 68,693 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 285.5% in the second quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,801,000 after buying an additional 4,254 shares during the period. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 38,386 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth $1,160,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Eaton from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.89.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN traded up $2.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $342.35. 3,434,212 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,500,182. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $355.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $329.33. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $236.04 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The company has a market cap of $135.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.