Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 887.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,269 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ETN. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its position in Eaton by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 1,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 2,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Well Done LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Karenann K. Terrell purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $298.97 per share, for a total transaction of $149,485.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $149,485. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 118,080 shares of company stock valued at $39,375,088. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ETN shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on Eaton from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Eaton in a report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.28.

Eaton Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $366.77 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $328.30 and its 200-day moving average is $319.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.95 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.01. 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 12-month low of $217.61 and a 12-month high of $369.29.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

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