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

Selway Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 51.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,050 shares during the period. Eaton comprises approximately 1.4% of Selway Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Selway Asset Management’s holdings in Eaton were worth $3,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in Eaton by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $15,109,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its holdings in Eaton by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 76,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,479,000 after buying an additional 5,725 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Eaton by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,205,000 after buying an additional 7,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,001,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $355.00 target price (up from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded down $3.34 on Friday, hitting $319.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,067,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,028,760. The company has a market capitalization of $127.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $191.82 and a 12 month high of $345.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $324.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.64.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Eaton’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.39%.

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.