Motive Wealth Advisors Acquires Shares of 678 Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Motive Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its position in shares of Eaton by 142.9% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on ETN shares. HSBC boosted their target price on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on Eaton from $316.00 to $318.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James started coverage on Eaton in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.06.

Eaton Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded up $1.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $330.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,644,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,000,803. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $191.82 and a 12 month high of $345.19. The company has a market capitalization of $132.14 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $325.94 and its 200 day moving average is $298.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

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.