Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $14,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 48.9% in 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 last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,949,000 after buying an additional 6,166 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,072,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ETN. Melius cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $356.20.

Eaton Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of ETN opened at $292.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $255.65 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $318.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.