LVW Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

LVW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,595,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,812,966,000 after buying an additional 259,615 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,087,983,000. Coatue Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eaton by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 3,986,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $960,016,000 after buying an additional 195,809 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Eaton by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,739,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $900,600,000 after acquiring an additional 138,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,163,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,998,000 after purchasing an additional 27,386 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ETN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. 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 report on Wednesday, March 6th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Eaton in a research report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays raised Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.06.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $312.19 on Tuesday. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $191.82 and a 52-week high of $345.19. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $325.35 and a 200-day moving average of $293.12. The company has a market cap of $124.81 billion, a PE ratio of 36.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

About Eaton

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.