Xponance Inc. Increases Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,156 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $12,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Amarillo National Bank raised its holdings in Eaton by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 1,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 17,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,220,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded up $1.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $310.91. 272,224 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,870,847. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $253.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $161.12 and a 52-week high of $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.88%.

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.