999 Shares in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Acquired by FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH bought a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays upgraded shares of 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 note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday. Mizuho upped their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.94.

Eaton Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $325.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $292.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.82. The company has a market capitalization of $130.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $155.38 and a 1 year high of $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by 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.