Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 28.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 208,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,799 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $65,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its position in Eaton by 8.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,176,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,001,000. Prospector Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 71,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,172,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Eaton by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 14,914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,648,000 after acquiring an additional 5,932 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ETN. Barclays lifted their target price on Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. HSBC lifted their price objective on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James started coverage on Eaton in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total value of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,858,328. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326 over the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock traded up $5.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $306.93. 2,320,225 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,169,083. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $305.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $310.40. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $191.82 and a 12-month high of $345.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $122.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. Equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.66 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

Eaton Company 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.