5,976 Shares in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Acquired by Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC

Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,439,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,248,960,000 after buying an additional 5,270,331 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $798,119,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 122,471.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,619,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $411,107,000 after buying an additional 2,617,213 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Eaton by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,542,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,968,521,000 after buying an additional 2,602,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth $340,500,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ETN. Bank of America upped their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays raised Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.60.

Eaton Trading Down 0.4 %

Eaton stock traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $308.94. 1,859,589 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,892,845. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.52, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $161.12 and a fifty-two week high of $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders 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 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 46.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. Corporate insiders own 0.53% 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.