Stokes Family Office LLC Sells 2,780 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Stokes Family Office LLC reduced its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,780 shares during the quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ETN. UBS Group increased their target price on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.27.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN traded up $6.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $320.50. 1,764,701 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,036,619. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $165.24 and a 52 week high of $333.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $307.97 and a 200-day moving average of $261.18. The stock has a market cap of $128.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given 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 1.17%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.39%.

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.