Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Smith Salley Wealth Management

Smith Salley Wealth Management lowered its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 385 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Eaton were worth $4,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its stake in Eaton by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.89.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $346.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.95 billion, a PE ratio of 36.87, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $236.20 and a one year high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $354.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $329.77.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

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.