Prospector Partners LLC Increases Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Prospector Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,260 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,411 shares during the quarter. Eaton makes up about 2.6% of Prospector Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Prospector Partners LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $24,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Eaton by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,206,251 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,005,317,000 after buying an additional 18,077 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,422,189 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $471,370,000 after acquiring an additional 40,078 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 27,075.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,073,976 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $355,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,024 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Eaton by 8.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 923,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $305,930,000 after purchasing an additional 74,415 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in Eaton by 13.0% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 865,820 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $286,967,000 after purchasing an additional 99,381 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $662,161.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 70,117 shares of company stock valued at $25,050,901 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $348.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Eaton from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $357.83.

Eaton Stock Up 0.2 %

ETN traded up $0.61 on Tuesday, reaching $377.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,016,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,111,760. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $224.52 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The business's 50 day moving average is $344.15 and its 200 day moving average is $323.22. The stock has a market cap of $149.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

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.