Machina Capital S.A.S. Raises Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 142.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its stake in Eaton by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Eaton by 621.4% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Melius cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.58.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $285.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $321.13 and a 200 day moving average of $331.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.