Diversified LLC Acquires Shares of 853 Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Diversified LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Telemus Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Amarillo National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 1,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 17,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,220,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares in the company, valued at $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630 shares in the company, valued at $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.60.

Eaton Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of ETN stock opened at $308.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $123.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $161.12 and a one year high of $331.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $301.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. 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 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

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.