Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Purchases Shares of 2,102 Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,102 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $698,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 978 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 752 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nwam LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 5,314 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,764,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN traded down $0.91 on Thursday, hitting $324.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,617,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,719. The stock has a market cap of $127.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $292.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $318.55. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $231.85 and a 52-week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $355.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $367.83.

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.