RNC Capital Management LLC Buys 445 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

RNC Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 44,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $10,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 604,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $121,598,000 after acquiring an additional 120,746 shares during the last quarter. BCS Wealth Management bought a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Sandler Capital Management raised its position in Eaton by 102.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sandler Capital Management now owns 95,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,259,000 after purchasing an additional 48,410 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $479,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Eaton by 96.3% during the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,865,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $314.63 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $125.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.23, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $278.80 and its 200 day moving average is $242.64. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $155.38 and a twelve month high of $317.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.88%.

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.