Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 309 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of ETN opened at $308.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $161.12 and a 1-year high of $331.47. The stock has a market cap of $123.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.94.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. Eaton’s revenue 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 46.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of 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 report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 valued at $10,904,774 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.