1,644 Shares in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Acquired by Isthmus Partners LLC

Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 1,497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. United Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at $258,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 30,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,693 shares during the period. Finally, XML Financial LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on ETN shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $277.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $320.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $332.04. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $255.65 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $108.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 43.79%.

Eaton 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.