Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Purchased by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after buying an additional 13,497 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of ETN opened at $285.29 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $321.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.96. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $111.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ETN. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.58.

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.