Vicus Capital Takes $395,000 Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Eaton by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP bought a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $15,109,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its position in Eaton by 8.1% during 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 period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,205,000 after purchasing an additional 7,964 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $1,001,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price for the company. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.06.

Eaton Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ETN stock traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $313.55. 2,557,711 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,258,211. The firm has a market cap of $125.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.04. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $191.82 and a fifty-two week high of $345.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $292.72.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

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.