Sei Investments Co. Buys 181,405 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 63.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 465,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 181,405 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $145,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 323.8% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $998,255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,270 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 2,857.4% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,262,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $394,752,000 after buying an additional 1,219,790 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Eaton by 2,006.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 964,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,326,000 after buying an additional 918,936 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Eaton during the second quarter valued at about $225,974,000. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 207.5% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 970,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,698,000 after acquiring an additional 654,855 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $330.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.03, a PEG 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $312.45. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $191.82 and a 1 year high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total transaction of $14,762,020.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at $21,451,287.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total transaction of $14,762,020.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at $21,451,287.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,328. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326 in the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $337.41.

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.