Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Acquired by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Eaton in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.89.

Eaton Stock Up 0.4 %

Eaton stock opened at $346.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $354.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $329.77. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $236.20 and a twelve month high of $379.99.

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

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.