Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys 80,606 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 307.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 80,606 shares during the quarter. Eaton comprises approximately 1.0% of Empirical Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $35,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Eaton by 48.9% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,533,000 after purchasing an additional 13,497 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP increased its stake in Eaton by 82.7% during the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 151,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,571,000 after purchasing an additional 68,693 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 285.5% during the 2nd quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,801,000 after buying an additional 4,254 shares during the period. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 38,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,739,000 after buying an additional 2,428 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth $1,160,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 0.7 %

ETN stock opened at $345.02 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $236.04 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $355.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $329.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.35 billion, a PE ratio of 36.70, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at $17,241,796.60. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ETN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group started coverage on Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.89.

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.