Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Buys 1,005 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 67,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $16,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Eaton by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Eaton by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,205,000 after acquiring an additional 7,964 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC bought a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $2,958,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at $479,000. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ETN. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.60.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN traded up $7.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $324.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,233,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,329. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $162.04 and a 12-month high of $331.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $303.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $129.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.54, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. Eaton’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 in the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Company 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.