Columbia Trust Co 01012016 Raises Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Columbia Trust Co 01012016 increased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s holdings in Eaton were worth $546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.20.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 over the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $314.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $125.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $155.38 and a fifty-two week high of $317.02. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $278.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.88%.

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.