First Pacific Financial Sells 250 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

First Pacific Financial lowered its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its holdings in Eaton by 321.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Eaton in the third quarter worth $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $345.02 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $236.04 and a 12-month 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 company has a market cap of $136.35 billion, a PE ratio of 36.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $355.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $329.43.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during 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%. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ETN. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.89.

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.