Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA Takes $722,000 Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $722,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HSBC upped their price objective on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Raymond James began coverage on Eaton in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price on the stock. Argus boosted their target price on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $328.00.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded up $2.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $300.00. 1,950,652 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,173,366. The company’s 50 day moving average is $307.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $310.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.94 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $191.82 and a 52 week high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.35 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total value of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,328. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at $21,451,287.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total value of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,858,328. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.