Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Position Boosted by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 62 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Eaton were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Red Spruce Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 17,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,220,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.9% in the third quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Trading Down 0.6 %

ETN traded down $1.99 during trading on Thursday, reaching $312.41. 763,608 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,758,629. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $278.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.81 billion, a PE ratio of 38.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $155.38 and a fifty-two week high of $317.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.20.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.