Wealthfront Advisers LLC Grows Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $15,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Eaton by 48.9% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,533,000 after buying an additional 13,497 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at about $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in Eaton by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,072,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $282.89 on Wednesday. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $255.65 and a twelve 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.78, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $319.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $331.92.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Melius lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.58.

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.