Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Bought by S.A. Mason LLC

S.A. Mason LLC increased its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the quarter. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the second quarter worth about $36,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ETN. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $314.63 on Thursday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $155.38 and a 12 month high of $317.02. The stock has a market cap of $125.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.23, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’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 current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 8th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

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.