Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 4,300 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $12,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in Eaton by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 76,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,479,000 after purchasing an additional 5,725 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 1st quarter worth $2,176,000. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $1,001,000. Prospector Partners LLC increased its position in Eaton by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 71,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,172,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Eaton in the first quarter valued at about $813,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,858,328. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Eaton news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,161.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,858,328. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen 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 price target of $337.41.

Eaton Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE ETN opened at $311.70 on Wednesday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $191.82 and a 12 month high of $345.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $124.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $300.17 and its 200 day moving average is $312.08.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. Research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

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.