Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Position Raised by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 117.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,313 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Eaton by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,206,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,005,317,000 after purchasing an additional 18,077 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 2.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,422,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $471,370,000 after buying an additional 40,078 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 1,070,024 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $305,930,000 after buying an additional 74,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in Eaton by 13.0% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 865,820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $286,967,000 after buying an additional 99,381 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $374.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director now owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 66,981 shares of company stock valued at $24,100,317. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:ETN opened at $371.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $147.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $347.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $324.22. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $224.52 and a 52 week high of $379.99.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s payout ratio 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.