Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases 40,397 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 622,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 40,397 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $206,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Eaton by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Eaton from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.13.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $310.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $121.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $282.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $319.96. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $231.85 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total transaction of $15,593,423.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 489,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.