Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $1.32 Million in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,317,000. Eaton accounts for about 1.3% of Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,336,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,749,751,000 after acquiring an additional 176,900 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Eaton by 36.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,248,960,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270,331 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Eaton by 3.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,034,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,425,595,000 after acquiring an additional 495,948 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Eaton by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,542,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,968,521,000 after acquiring an additional 2,602,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eaton by 2.0% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,084,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,210,672,000 after acquiring an additional 136,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton 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 transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were 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 sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 0.5 %

ETN stock traded down $1.72 during trading on Thursday, reaching $312.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,977,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,236. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $155.38 and a 52 week high of $317.02. The company has a market cap of $124.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $280.35 and a 200 day moving average of $243.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.20.

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.