West Family Investments Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $310.68. 1,592,755 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,021,846. The stock has a market cap of $124.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $165.24 and a 12 month high of $333.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.80.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of 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, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $309.60.

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.