Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Purchased by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $3,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ETN. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,248,960,000 after purchasing an additional 5,270,331 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $798,119,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 122,471.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,619,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $411,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,617,213 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,542,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,968,521,000 after acquiring an additional 2,602,246 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth $340,500,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $310.15 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $299.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.53. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $161.12 and a twelve month high of $331.47. The company has a market capitalization of $123.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 46.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 accessible through the SEC website. In other Eaton news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 630 shares in the company, valued at $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.60.

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.