Bailard Inc. Has $15.49 Million Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,558 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $15,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 31,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,674,000 after buying an additional 10,324 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in Eaton by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 13,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,155,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Eaton by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE ETN traded up $6.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $318.93. The stock had a trading volume of 3,550,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,615. The firm has a market cap of $127.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $161.12 and a twelve month high of $331.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $303.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $257.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.88%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays raised shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.60.

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.