MCF Advisors LLC Has $1.06 Million Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

MCF Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in Eaton by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 76,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,479,000 after purchasing an additional 5,725 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the first quarter worth $2,176,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at $1,001,000. Prospector Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 71,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,172,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Eaton in the first quarter valued at about $813,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson acquired 2,205 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $662,161.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson acquired 2,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,161.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326 in the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $285.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $303.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $310.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.56. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $191.82 and a twelve month high of $345.19. The firm has a market cap of $114.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. On average, analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

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.