Saxon Interests Inc. Buys Shares of 5,109 Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Saxon Interests Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ETN. FMR LLC increased its position in Eaton by 36.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,248,960,000 after buying an additional 5,270,331 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $798,119,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 122,471.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,619,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $411,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617,213 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,542,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,968,521,000 after purchasing an additional 2,602,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the third quarter valued at about $340,500,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN traded down $1.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $312.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,983,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,021,085. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $280.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $243.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $155.38 and a 12 month high of $317.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.20.

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.