Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stock Holdings Lowered by First Pacific Financial

First Pacific Financial lessened its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. S.A. Mason LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 26,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,320,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 44,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,670,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 2,269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management grew its holdings in Eaton by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 12,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s 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 owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $314.63 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $155.38 and a 12 month high of $317.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.64. The firm has a market cap of $125.69 billion, a PE ratio of 39.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

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.