Independent Advisor Alliance Grows Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,653 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Eaton were worth $11,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in Eaton by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,949,000 after buying an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Eaton by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,804,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ETN shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Stock Down 2.7 %

ETN opened at $277.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $320.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $332.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

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.