Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Purchases 744 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the first quarter worth $2,176,000. Griffin Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton during the first quarter valued at about $813,000. IAM Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the second quarter valued at about $599,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 19.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 78,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,616,000 after purchasing an additional 12,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP increased its position in shares of Eaton by 82.7% during the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 151,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,571,000 after buying an additional 68,693 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN traded down $2.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $341.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 343,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,097,104. The company has a market cap of $136.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $316.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $316.93. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $193.77 and a 12 month high of $349.74.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.35 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $319.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $355.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Four 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.06.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,858,328. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Eaton news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total value of $96,721.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,858,328. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.