Physicians Financial Services Inc. Acquires New Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Breakwater Investment Management lifted its holdings in Eaton by 1,560.0% during the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in Eaton during the second quarter worth $29,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eaton in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price target on Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total value of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,858,328. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Eaton news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,858,328. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at $21,451,287.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,080 shares of company stock worth $39,375,088 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of ETN traded up $2.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $363.46. 556,037 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,109,005. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $325.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $319.05. The firm has a market cap of $143.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.01. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $217.61 and a 12-month high of $366.08. 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 (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. Eaton’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Eaton 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.