Hardy Reed LLC Invests $259,000 in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Hardy Reed LLC purchased a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 781 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 48.1% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 5.5% in the third quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,410,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in Eaton by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 204,983 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,940,000 after purchasing an additional 6,565 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in Eaton by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 4,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,355,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $377.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.13, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $345.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $323.55. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $224.52 and a 12 month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. Analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $374.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on Eaton from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,161.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 70,117 shares of company stock worth $25,050,901. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.