Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Boosts Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,351,506,000 after acquiring an additional 99,291 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,051,807,000 after purchasing an additional 182,455 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,714,677,000 after buying an additional 129,071 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,550,226,000 after buying an additional 192,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,518,207,000 after buying an additional 368,241 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock opened at $323.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $304.79 and a 200-day moving average of $315.02. The company has a market cap of $126.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.03, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16. 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 Co. plc has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. Eaton’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.98%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 490,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Eaton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.78.

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.