Whipplewood Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in Eaton by 83.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its holdings in Eaton by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Eaton during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Eaton by 621.4% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Down 2.4 %

ETN stock opened at $290.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $327.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $332.26. The company has a market cap of $114.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $255.65 and a twelve month high of $379.99.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 39.58%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. Barclays raised their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho raised their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group started coverage on Eaton in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.05.

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.