Fred Alger Management LLC Acquires 90,384 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 57.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 248,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,384 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $82,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ETN. Breakwater Investment Management boosted its stake in Eaton by 1,560.0% during the second quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,241,796.60. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,981 shares of company stock worth $24,100,317 over the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Eaton in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Four 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.83.

Eaton Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $371.98 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $347.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $324.22. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $224.52 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $147.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

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.