Tranquility Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Tranquility Partners LLC reduced its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN traded down $5.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $310.15. 2,204,648 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,893,290. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $298.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $161.12 and a 12 month high of $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 1.21%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. 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 research note on Tuesday, December 19th. 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 shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price 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 issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.