Fiduciary Alliance LLC Raises Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Eaton makes up approximately 1.0% of Fiduciary Alliance LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Fiduciary Alliance LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $9,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,167,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 85,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 1,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,241,796.60. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $340.51. The stock had a trading volume of 493,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,972,903. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $355.14 and a 200 day moving average of $328.96. The stock has a market cap of $134.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $236.04 and a 52-week high of $379.99. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ETN. 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 report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.28.

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.