Private Trust Co. NA Buys 412 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 13,497 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at about $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its position in Eaton by 52.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock opened at $290.08 on Friday. 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 Co. plc has a 1 year low of $255.65 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $327.80 and a 200 day moving average of $332.26. The company has a market cap of $114.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.53, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results 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 period last year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.05.

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.