Vista Investment Partners II LLC Purchases Shares of 2,849 Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $945,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 2.1% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $285.29 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $321.13 and its 200-day moving average is $332.19. The firm has a market cap of $111.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.58.

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.