Wealthfront Advisers LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $15,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ETN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 253.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $753,590,000 after buying an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 42,255.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $243,036,000 after purchasing an additional 730,594 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 32.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 390.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 539,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,421,000 after purchasing an additional 429,701 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $137,794,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ETN shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.58.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

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 shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $282.89 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $319.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $255.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The company has a market cap of $110.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.78, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.79%.

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.