J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Eaton by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 2,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in Eaton by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 2,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Motco increased its stake in Eaton by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 1,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 2,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on ETN shares. Raymond James reduced their target price on Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research raised Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Eaton in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $337.41.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $306.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $191.82 and a one year high of $345.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,186,411.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Eaton news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,161.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,186,411.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Company Profile

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.