Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 383,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 48,848 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.10% of Eaton worth $127,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 621.4% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Melius cut shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.15.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $287.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $255.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $323.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $332.18.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) 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. Analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

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.