Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 454 shares during the period. Eaton makes up approximately 1.0% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $7,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ETN. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $276,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 23,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 69.5% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN traded up $6.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $318.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,550,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,615. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $161.12 and a fifty-two week high of $331.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $127.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $302.20 and a 200-day moving average of $256.66.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s payout ratio is 46.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ETN. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.