Mcdonald Partners LLC Cuts Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Mcdonald Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,082 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for approximately 3.6% of Mcdonald Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Mcdonald Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $13,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fragasso Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Telemus Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amarillo National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 1,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $355.00 price objective (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.27.

Eaton Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Eaton stock traded down $7.53 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $315.23. 1,849,702 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,019,856. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $191.82 and a 1-year high of $345.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $324.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $291.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.03 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.04.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.