Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3,508.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 401,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 390,595 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $133,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock opened at $339.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $134.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $355.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.33. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $236.04 and a 1 year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ETN shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.61.

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.