Sigma Planning Corp Sells 9,717 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sigma Planning Corp lessened its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 65.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,077 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,717 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 1.7 %

ETN opened at $308.18 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $301.39 and a 200 day moving average of $255.94. The company has a market cap of $123.12 billion, a PE ratio of 38.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $161.12 and a 12 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.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.