Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,336,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,749,751,000 after acquiring an additional 176,900 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 36.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,248,960,000 after purchasing an additional 5,270,331 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,009,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,068,412,000 after buying an additional 109,775 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Eaton by 3.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,163,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,998,000 after purchasing an additional 27,386 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ETN. Bank of America lifted their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,635 shares of company stock worth $6,311,392 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE ETN traded up $3.00 on Thursday, reaching $333.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,487,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,012,587. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $133.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.35, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $311.28 and its 200-day moving average is $265.01. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $165.24 and a 52 week high of $333.45.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 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.