Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Increases Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,623 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 253.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $753,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 27,075.5% during the 3rd 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Eaton by 32.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in Eaton by 31,255.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 478,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,928,000 after buying an additional 476,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 8,348.9% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 446,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $140,008,000 after acquiring an additional 441,239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ETN shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $340.60 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $355.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $329.15. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $236.04 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $134.61 billion, a PE ratio of 36.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.