Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stake Lifted by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 125.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,714 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,730 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,447 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $223,000. Novem Group acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $444,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in Eaton by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 76,232 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,299,000 after buying an additional 9,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NCM Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,178,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ETN. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Melius lowered Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.83.

Eaton Stock Up 2.2%

ETN stock traded up $7.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $328.10. 1,568,720 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,662,044. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $291.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $318.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. Eaton's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued 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 1.27%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Eaton

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.