Ayrshire Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the quarter. Eaton makes up 3.3% of Ayrshire Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $6,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. Evercore ISI downgraded Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target for the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.61.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $340.60 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $355.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $329.15. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $236.04 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $134.61 billion, a PE ratio of 36.23, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,422 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 in the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.