LPL Financial LLC Grows Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 488,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,939 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.12% of Eaton worth $161,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Breakwater Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1,560.0% in the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $371.08 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $224.52 and a fifty-two week high of $373.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $341.32 and a 200 day moving average of $322.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on ETN shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $374.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI cut Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their target price for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson acquired 2,205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,705 shares of company stock worth $24,516,346. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.