Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Eastern Bank

Eastern Bank cut its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 942 shares during the quarter. Eaton comprises about 1.2% of Eastern Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Eastern Bank owned approximately 0.05% of Eaton worth $66,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ETN. Breakwater Investment Management grew its stake in Eaton by 1,560.0% in the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.61.

Eaton Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE ETN traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $340.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,959,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,195,868. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $236.04 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $355.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $328.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Eaton Company 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.