Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. increased its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Patron Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC raised its stake in Eaton by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC now owns 59,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,224,000 after buying an additional 1,427 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Eaton by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,024 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 1,194 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Down 0.5 %

Eaton stock traded down $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $312.68. 1,983,529 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,021,085. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $124.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $155.38 and a 1-year high of $317.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $281.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.63.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ETN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.20.

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.