Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Has $1.68 Million Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in Eaton by 83.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its stake in Eaton by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Eaton by 621.4% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 3.1 %

Eaton stock opened at $287.85 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $255.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $323.38 and its 200 day moving average is $332.18. The company has a market capitalization of $112.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 43.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ETN. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.15.

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.