Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Acquired by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,558 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $15,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the third quarter worth approximately $276,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in Eaton by 6.6% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 23,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,096,000 after buying an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Eaton by 69.5% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 12.7% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Eaton by 17.2% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of ETN stock traded up $6.09 on Wednesday, hitting $318.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,550,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,615. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $161.12 and a fifty-two week high of $331.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $303.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $257.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.60.

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.