Peterson Wealth Services Acquires Shares of 11,997 Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Peterson Wealth Services bought a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,000. Eaton accounts for about 1.2% of Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Amarillo National Bank increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 1,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 17,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,220,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. GSG Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ETN shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.60.

Eaton Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Eaton stock traded up $5.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $315.37. The stock had a trading volume of 339,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,871,089. The company has a market capitalization of $125.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $299.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.53. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $161.12 and a 52 week high of $331.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 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.