Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Reduces Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Eaton news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 in the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $318.93 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $303.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.09. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $161.12 and a twelve month high of $331.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.77, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. 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 research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company 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 assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.60.

Eaton 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.