LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Raises Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 82.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,803 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ETN. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 100.9% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,078 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after buying an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 9.9% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 251,983 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,517,000 after purchasing an additional 22,637 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Vestor Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,118,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.5% during the third quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $364.65.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $277.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $109.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $332.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.