Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Purchased by abrdn plc

abrdn plc increased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 47.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 173,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,065 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Eaton were worth $41,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in Eaton by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 6,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $768,000. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 17,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,208,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $2,697,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock opened at $303.02 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $300.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $255.20. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $161.12 and a 12-month high of $331.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $121.06 billion, a PE ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.60.

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.