Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel decreased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 739 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. BCS Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth about $216,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,205,000 after buying an additional 7,964 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $2,958,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth about $479,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $309.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,109,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,880,723. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $253.53. The stock has a market cap of $123.60 billion, a PE ratio of 38.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $161.12 and a 1-year high of $331.47.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock 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 increased their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.60.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.