Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 71,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $17,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. RB Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 3.5% in the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 74.8% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 101,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,390,000 after acquiring an additional 43,381 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Eaton by 0.6% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 374,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,790,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Eaton by 9.1% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 1st quarter worth about $1,188,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ETN. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.60.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $312.78 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $299.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.53. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $161.12 and a 1 year high of $331.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.96 billion, a PE ratio of 38.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

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.