PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 8.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 923,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 74,415 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $305,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Breakwater Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1,560.0% in the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,186,411.68. This trade represents a 44.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,705 shares of company stock worth $24,516,346 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $357.83 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $337.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $321.74. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $224.52 and a fifty-two week high of $373.49. The company has a market capitalization of $141.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on ETN shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $374.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.83.

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.