Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Bought by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 27.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Breakwater Investment Management lifted its holdings in Eaton by 1,560.0% during the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ETN shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Eaton from $355.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.06.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN traded down $2.15 on Wednesday, reaching $341.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 343,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,097,104. The firm has a market cap of $136.49 billion, a PE ratio of 40.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $316.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.93. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $193.77 and a 52 week high of $349.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. Sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,161.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total transaction of $14,762,020.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,451,287.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,161.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.