Red Spruce Capital LLC Buys 1,827 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 13.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,245 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,827 shares during the period. Eaton comprises 1.9% of Red Spruce Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Red Spruce Capital LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $4,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Norden Group LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,797,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 4,737 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,572,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN stock traded down $4.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $320.35. 3,787,956 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,670,431. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $231.85 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The stock has a market cap of $125.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.72, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. 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's 50-day moving average is $293.29 and its 200 day moving average is $317.89.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.98%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total value of $33,400,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 490,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $158,214,632. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.