Strong Tower Advisory Services Grows Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Eaton were worth $2,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP raised its stake in Eaton by 82.7% during the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 151,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,571,000 after acquiring an additional 68,693 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 285.5% in the second quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 4,254 shares during the last quarter. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,167,000. Finally, Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its position in shares of Eaton by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 38,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $346.54 on Monday. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $236.20 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $354.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $329.89. The company has a market cap of $136.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.89.

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.