Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 14,154 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 120,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,154 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $40,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in Eaton by 42.3% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 1,497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,321,000. United Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Eaton by 5.8% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 30,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,693 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $285.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $321.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $332.19. 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 Co. plc has a one year low of $255.65 and a one year high of $379.99.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.