2,846 Shares in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Purchased by Scharf Investments LLC

Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $890,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Fragasso Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.6% during the first quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Eaton by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Telemus Capital LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amarillo National Bank lifted its position in Eaton by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 1,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price (up from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:ETN traded down $1.33 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $313.94. 2,525,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,024,264. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $125.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.04. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $191.82 and a 52-week high of $345.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $291.63.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

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.