MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $118,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded up $6.90 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $327.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,296,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,028,111. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $309.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.61. The stock has a market cap of $130.89 billion, a PE ratio of 38.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $165.24 and a 1-year high of $333.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price (up from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays upgraded Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.27.

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.