VeraBank N.A. Acquires 228 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

VeraBank N.A. boosted its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,419 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ETN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Eaton by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,336,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,749,751,000 after buying an additional 176,900 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,248,960,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270,331 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,009,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,068,412,000 after purchasing an additional 109,775 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Eaton by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,739,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $900,600,000 after purchasing an additional 138,465 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Eaton by 97.5% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,860,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $396,767,000 after buying an additional 918,422 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 2.0 %

Eaton stock traded up $6.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $320.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,769,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,741,837. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.14 billion, a PE ratio of 37.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $165.24 and a 12 month high of $333.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.45 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ETN. UBS Group upped their price objective on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Argus lifted their price objective on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Eaton news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.