Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Grows Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 40.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,634 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $6,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. increased its stake in Eaton by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. increased its position in Eaton by 3.6% during the first quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Eaton by 5.6% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Eaton by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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. Barclays raised their price target on Eaton from $316.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.06.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 5.7 %

ETN stock traded down $18.91 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $313.55. 1,920,145 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,993,490. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $326.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $300.17. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $191.82 and a 52-week high of $345.19. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $125.36 billion, a PE ratio of 37.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

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.