Catalina Capital Group LLC Increases Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 140.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares during the quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton by 142.9% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price objective for the company. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE:ETN traded up $8.19 on Wednesday, reaching $326.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,083,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,003,063. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $325.17 and a 200 day moving average of $297.04. The stock has a market cap of $130.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.02. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $191.82 and a 12-month high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

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.