GDS Wealth Management Grows Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

GDS Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,635 shares of company stock valued at $6,311,392 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ETN. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.27.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded up $3.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $333.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,487,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,012,587. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $311.28 and a 200 day moving average of $265.01. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $165.24 and a twelve month high of $333.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.29 billion, a PE ratio of 39.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

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.