Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Purchases 16,318 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) by 88.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 16,318 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $9,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,507,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,195,725,000 after buying an additional 289,819 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the first quarter worth $1,472,231,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,550,226,000 after buying an additional 192,482 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Eaton by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,518,207,000 after acquiring an additional 368,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 12.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,985,735 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,442,000 after acquiring an additional 427,509 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock opened at $357.32 on Thursday. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a one year low of $231.85 and a one year high of $399.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $357.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $318.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.95, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.18.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.03. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 15.11%. The firm had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 16,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.39, for a total value of $5,740,691.02. Following the sale, the insider owned 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $225,785.70. This trade represents a 96.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Eaton from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Eaton from $375.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $383.63.

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.