Vest Financial LLC Increases Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 73.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,525 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $1,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Eaton Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of ETN stock traded down $5.84 on Monday, hitting $325.61. 1,621,730 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,645,508. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $298.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $315.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total transaction of $15,593,423.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ETN. Barclays raised their price objective on Eaton from $306.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.78.

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.