Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 374 shares during the period. Eaton makes up 3.2% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $7,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.27.

Eaton Stock Up 0.2 %

ETN stock traded up $0.68 on Tuesday, hitting $322.76. 1,576,540 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,021,348. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $191.82 and a 12-month high of $345.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $324.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $129.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.04.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eaton Company 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.