Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Cambridge Trust Co.

Cambridge Trust Co. reduced its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,450 shares during the period. Eaton makes up about 1.5% of Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $35,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ETN. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ETN shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays raised Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.60.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $310.23. 892,201 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,879,536. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $253.53. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $161.12 and a 1-year high of $331.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $123.94 billion, a PE ratio of 38.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.