Prospector Partners LLC Grows Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Prospector Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 415 shares during the quarter. Eaton comprises about 2.1% of Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $17,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.27.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,174 shares of company stock valued at $5,098,000 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded up $2.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $339.15. 1,018,299 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,973,881. The firm has a market cap of $135.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.68, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $167.33 and a 52-week high of $344.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $318.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

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.