Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 34.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,774 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,726 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ETN. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Eaton Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $353.74 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 52 week low of $231.85 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $318.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.16.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Eaton had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

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.

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