Magnetar Financial LLC Buys New Shares in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 14,916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,677,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 1.2% in the second quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 2,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $870,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Well Done LLC increased its position in Eaton by 1.3% during the second quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Eaton by 1.7% during the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in Eaton by 1.7% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fragasso Group Inc. increased its position in Eaton by 3.6% during the first quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,186,411.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,161.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total value of $950,584.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,186,411.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James lowered their price target on Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Eaton in a report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $337.41.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $330.60 on Monday. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $191.82 and a twelve month high of $345.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $299.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $312.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.17 billion, a PE ratio of 39.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.35 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

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.