Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Invests $263,000 in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,595,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,812,966,000 after buying an additional 259,615 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $1,087,983,000. Coatue Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 3,986,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $960,016,000 after purchasing an additional 195,809 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,739,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $900,600,000 after purchasing an additional 138,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Eaton by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,163,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,998,000 after purchasing an additional 27,386 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC raised their price target on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.27.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $315.23 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $324.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.04. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $191.82 and a 1-year high of $345.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

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.