Tufton Capital Management Increases Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Tufton Capital Management increased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the quarter. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Eaton were worth $323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Peterson Wealth Services bought a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,889,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 71,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,319,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 3,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scissortail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $7,755,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE ETN traded up $4.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $314.53. 545,710 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,874,601. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $161.12 and a fifty-two week high of $331.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.65 billion, a PE ratio of 38.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $299.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.53.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 46.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their target price on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.