Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Acquires 4,936 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 19.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,936 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Eaton were worth $9,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ETN. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Eaton during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Breakwater Investment Management raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton by 142.9% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in Eaton during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $311.70 on Wednesday. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $191.82 and a 1 year high of $345.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $312.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $337.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,858,328. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Karenann K. Terrell purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,485. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,858,328. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton 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.