Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires 865 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $5,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,248,960,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270,331 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $340,500,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 97.5% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,860,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $396,767,000 after buying an additional 918,422 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,305,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 21,664.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 316,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,157,000 after buying an additional 314,789 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Argus raised their target price on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.27.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock traded up $6.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $320.50. 1,769,790 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,741,837. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $308.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $261.94. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $165.24 and a 12 month high of $333.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.45 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.