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

VeraBank N.A. boosted its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund 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.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $273,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $784,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,326,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Horan Capital Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Eaton by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 9,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded up $6.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $320.50. 1,769,790 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,741,837. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $165.24 and a 52-week high of $333.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $308.68 and a 200-day moving average of $261.94.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays raised shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $355.00 price objective (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.27.

Eaton 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.