Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. Buys 558 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ETN. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,248,960,000 after purchasing an additional 5,270,331 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $1,087,983,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 97.5% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,860,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $396,767,000 after acquiring an additional 918,422 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 207.5% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 970,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,698,000 after acquiring an additional 654,855 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,029,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $488,815,000 after acquiring an additional 337,351 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN traded up $8.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $324.78. The company had a trading volume of 723,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,990,364. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $182.20 and a twelve month high of $345.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $323.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $281.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $129.85 billion, a PE ratio of 37.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.04.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Eaton’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

Eaton 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.