GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 3,580,198 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 27,281.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,593,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,580,198 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $976,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,351,506,000 after buying an additional 99,291 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,051,807,000 after acquiring an additional 182,455 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,714,677,000 after acquiring an additional 129,071 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,550,226,000 after acquiring an additional 192,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,518,207,000 after purchasing an additional 368,241 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total transaction of $15,593,423.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 489,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ETN shares. Barclays reduced their price target on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.83.

Eaton Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:ETN opened at $324.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $292.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.23. The company has a market capitalization of $127.08 billion, a PE ratio of 34.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $231.85 and a 1-year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

About Eaton

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.