Rakuten Securities Inc. Raises Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 432.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 83.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Eaton by 621.4% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $292.13 on Thursday. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $255.65 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $318.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.65.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. On average, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ETN. Barclays dropped their price target on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Melius downgraded Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $356.20.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.