Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 383,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 48,848 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $127,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SWS Partners boosted its holdings in Eaton by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. SWS Partners now owns 10,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,340,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in Eaton by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 4,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,377,000 after buying an additional 1,426 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Eaton by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,255,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,555,000 after buying an additional 37,138 shares in the last quarter. HFR Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. HFR Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 142,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,309,000 after purchasing an additional 9,179 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ETN. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.15.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock opened at $287.85 on Thursday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $255.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The stock has a market cap of $112.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $323.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $332.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

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.