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

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 591 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $340,500,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 918,422 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,305,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 21,664.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 316,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,157,000 after buying an additional 314,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,219 shares of company stock valued at $5,509,667 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. HSBC lifted their price objective on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.27.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN traded up $2.97 on Wednesday, hitting $330.40. 1,401,463 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,018,528. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.09 billion, a PE ratio of 39.01, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $165.24 and a 12-month high of $333.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $310.41 and a 200-day moving average of $264.55.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.