Gradient Investments LLC Raises Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 28.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,324 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 15,542 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $18,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ETN. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.83.

Eaton Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of ETN traded up $7.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $325.91. 1,978,882 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,665,400. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $316.94. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $231.85 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The company has a market cap of $127.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is 41.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total value of $15,593,423.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 489,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Eaton 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.