Strong Tower Advisory Services Raises Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Strong Tower Advisory Services boosted its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 18.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,981 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares during the quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services' holdings in Eaton were worth $2,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 752 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 5,314 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,764,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $1,572,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total value of $33,400,106.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 490,208 shares in the company, valued at $158,214,632. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $327.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 532,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,647,182. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $231.85 and a one year high of $379.99. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $295.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.07. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $128.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. Eaton's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has an average 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.