Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $3.96 Million Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,630 shares during the period. Eaton accounts for about 1.1% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $3,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Peterson Wealth Services acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,889,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 71,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,319,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Eaton by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 3,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Scissortail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $7,755,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ETN. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays raised Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 1.5 %

Eaton stock traded up $4.71 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $314.89. The stock had a trading volume of 504,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,873,966. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $161.12 and a 12 month high of $331.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $299.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.53. The company has a market capitalization of $125.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.67, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.88%.

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.