Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Reduces Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lowered its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 167,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,359 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $40,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Hyman Charles D boosted its holdings in Eaton by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Hyman Charles D now owns 4,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $710,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $814,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $327.30. 1,792,924 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,025,208. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $310.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.55. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $165.24 and a 1 year high of $333.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $130.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ETN. UBS Group lifted their price target on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. HSBC upped their price target on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.27.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Insiders own 0.33% 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.