852 Shares in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Acquired by Financial Advisors Network Inc.

Financial Advisors Network Inc. bought a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $281,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $1,879,000. InterOcean Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 3,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its holdings in Eaton by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 54,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,099,000 after purchasing an additional 14,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,957,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $471,493,000 after purchasing an additional 118,544 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,738.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,174 shares of company stock worth $5,098,000 in the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Up 1.4 %

ETN traded up $4.60 on Thursday, reaching $340.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 573,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,969,218. The stock has a market cap of $136.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $167.33 and a 1 year high of $344.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $318.69 and its 200 day moving average is $274.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ETN. HSBC raised their price target on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Argus lifted their price objective on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $355.00 price objective (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.27.

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.