Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stock Position Lifted by Fragasso Group Inc.

Fragasso Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 36 shares during the quarter. Fragasso Group Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ETN. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $317,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Telemus Capital LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Amarillo National Bank lifted its stake 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. Finally, Monument Capital Management grew its position in Eaton by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 2,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.27.

Eaton Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of ETN opened at $319.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $324.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.28. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $191.82 and a 52 week high of $345.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.04.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

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

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.