Blue Trust Inc. Buys 383 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Advisory Resource Group raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 9.4% in the first quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 4,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,212,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 11,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,149,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the first quarter valued at approximately $771,000. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Eaton by 117.5% in the 1st quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 3,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 220.5% during the first quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 490,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $333.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $308.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $314.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a fifty-two week low of $231.85 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Eaton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $355.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.78.

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.