Rockland Trust Co. Buys Shares of 1,109 Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Rockland Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in Eaton by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $342.35 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $355.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $236.04 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The company has a market cap of $135.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI cut shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.89.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.