Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Grows Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 164.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,438 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Telemus Capital LLC raised its position in Eaton by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Amarillo National Bank raised its position in Eaton by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 1,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management raised its position in Eaton by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 2,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its position in Eaton by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 17,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,220,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on ETN shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN traded up $7.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $324.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,305,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,383,996. The stock has a market cap of $129.56 billion, a PE ratio of 40.42, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $162.04 and a fifty-two week high of $331.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $304.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

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.