Tranquility Partners LLC Has $1.20 Million Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Tranquility Partners LLC lowered its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Amarillo National Bank boosted its stake in Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 1,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 17,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,220,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of ETN stock traded down $5.20 on Wednesday, hitting $310.15. The stock had a trading volume of 2,204,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,893,290. The business has a 50 day moving average of $298.74 and a 200 day moving average of $253.13. The stock has a market cap of $123.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $161.12 and a 12-month high of $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of 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 link. In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.