Sycomore Asset Management Boosts Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sycomore Asset Management increased its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 47.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 10,324 shares during the period. Eaton comprises about 1.7% of Sycomore Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Sycomore Asset Management’s holdings in Eaton were worth $7,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock traded up $6.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $318.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,550,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,615. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $161.12 and a twelve month high of $331.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $303.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.60.

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.