Americana Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 948 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $8,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,176,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 31,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,761,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $371,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in 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 report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $355.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.65.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,186,411.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,161.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded down $1.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $329.96. The stock had a trading volume of 515,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,098,218. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $211.99 and a 1 year high of $349.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $322.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $318.15. The company has a market capitalization of $131.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.36%.

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.