Acropolis Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Acropolis Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $291,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Eaton by 0.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,206,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,005,317,000 after buying an additional 18,077 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 253.2% in 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 valued at $753,590,000 after buying an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Eaton by 2.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,422,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $471,370,000 after buying an additional 40,078 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 27,075.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,073,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $355,959,000 after buying an additional 1,070,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Eaton by 8.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 923,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,930,000 after buying an additional 74,415 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,981 shares of company stock worth $24,100,317. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ETN. Barclays lowered their target price on Eaton from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their target price for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.83.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $375.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $148.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $224.61 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $348.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $324.50.

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

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

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.