Ransom Advisory Ltd Purchases Shares of 12,185 Eaton Corporation, PLC $ETN

Key Points

• Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position of 12,185 shares of Eaton (≈$3.88 million) in Q4, making Eaton about 1.5% of the fund's portfolio and its 10th largest holding.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded Eaton recently (Wolfe Research, HSBC, RBC, Weiss), leaving the stock with an overall "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average price target of $395.11.
• Eaton increased its quarterly dividend to $1.10 (from $1.04), a $4.40 annualized payout with a 1.2% yield; the ex-dividend date is March 10 and payment is March 27.

Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 12,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,881,000. Eaton makes up about 1.5% of Ransom Advisory Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth about $72,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $413.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. HSBC upgraded shares of Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $407.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $340.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $395.11.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $360.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.17. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 52-week low of $231.85 and a 52-week high of $408.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $358.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $355.54.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter. Eaton had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 25.00%. Research analysts predict that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This is a boost from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Eaton's payout ratio is currently 42.07%.

Insider Activity

In other Eaton news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total transaction of $4,178,513.82. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,821,519.54. This trade represents a 27.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Eaton Profile

Eaton NYSE: ETN is a diversified power management company that designs, manufactures and distributes products and systems to manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company's offerings are used to improve energy efficiency, reliability and safety across a wide range of applications, with core capabilities in electrical distribution and control, industrial hydraulics and aerospace systems.

Its product portfolio includes switchgear, circuit breakers, transformers, power distribution units, uninterruptible power supplies and surge protection devices for electrical infrastructure, along with hydraulic pumps, valves and filtration systems for industrial and mobile equipment.

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