HCR Wealth Advisors Buys 262 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

HCR Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Eaton were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,665,342,000 after acquiring an additional 56,516 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Eaton by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,206,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,005,317,000 after purchasing an additional 18,077 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $836,938,000 after purchasing an additional 316,830 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 253.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $753,590,000 after buying an additional 1,629,856 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,241,796.60. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Up 0.6 %

ETN stock opened at $342.35 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $236.04 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $355.38 and a 200 day moving average of $329.33.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

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.