Aviance Capital Partners LLC Cuts Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 142.9% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ETN. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Eaton in a report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.06.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock traded down $4.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $309.21. 207,300 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,014,004. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $325.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $123.62 billion, a PE ratio of 37.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.02. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $191.82 and a one year high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

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.