Lafayette Investments Inc. Takes Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Lafayette Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Eaton during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 142.9% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 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 weighed in on ETN shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.00.

Eaton Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $306.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $191.82 and a 12-month high of $345.19. The company has a market cap of $122.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.24, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $305.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $310.66.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.35 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total transaction of $14,762,020.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total transaction of $14,762,020.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total value of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,186,411.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.