EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $5.89 Million Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $5,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Eaton by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,109,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its holdings in Eaton by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 76,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,479,000 after purchasing an additional 5,725 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,205,000 after purchasing an additional 7,964 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the first quarter worth about $2,176,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ETN shares. HSBC upped their target price on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus boosted their target price on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Raymond James began coverage on Eaton in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. One research 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, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.06.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of ETN traded up $4.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $297.79. 2,818,274 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,064,389. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $191.82 and a 12 month high of $345.19. The company has a market capitalization of $119.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $322.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

About Eaton

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.