Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 454 shares during the period. Eaton makes up about 1.0% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $7,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ETN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Eaton by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,336,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,749,751,000 after buying an additional 176,900 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 36.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,248,960,000 after buying an additional 5,270,331 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Eaton by 2.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,009,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,068,412,000 after buying an additional 109,775 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Eaton by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,739,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $900,600,000 after buying an additional 138,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Eaton by 97.5% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,860,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $396,767,000 after buying an additional 918,422 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded up $6.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $318.93. 3,550,094 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,943,615. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $161.12 and a 1 year high of $331.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $256.66. The stock has a market cap of $127.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released 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 analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.60.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 over the last 90 days. Company 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.