Harfst & Associates Inc. Reduces Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Harfst & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 58.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 930 shares during the quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,206,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,005,317,000 after purchasing an additional 18,077 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Eaton by 323.8% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $998,255,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439,270 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 15.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,318,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $412,108,000 after acquiring an additional 176,571 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 2,857.4% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,262,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $394,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,790 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 61.4% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 790,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $247,074,000 after acquiring an additional 300,689 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, Director Karenann K. Terrell acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $298.97 per share, for a total transaction of $149,485.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $149,485. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Eaton news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total value of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,328. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karenann K. Terrell purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $149,485. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $348.18. 1,173,441 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,114,890. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $314.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.02. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $191.82 and a one year high of $349.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on ETN shares. Raymond James dropped their price target on Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays raised their price target on Eaton from $319.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.06.

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.