Steph & Co. Reduces Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Steph & Co. cut its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. Steph & Co.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RB Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 3.5% during the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Eaton by 74.8% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 101,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,390,000 after buying an additional 43,381 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Eaton by 0.6% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 374,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,790,000 after buying an additional 2,057 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Eaton by 9.1% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Ergoteles LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the first quarter valued at $1,188,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock traded down $5.17 on Wednesday, reaching $310.18. 2,204,550 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,893,289. The stock has a market cap of $123.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.68, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.07. 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 twelve month low of $161.12 and a twelve month high of $331.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $298.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.13.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company 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 firm posted $2.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares in the company, valued at $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.