Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC cut its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its stake in Eaton by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 76,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,479,000 after purchasing an additional 5,725 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the first quarter worth approximately $2,176,000. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,001,000. Prospector Partners LLC increased its position in Eaton by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 71,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,172,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton during the 1st quarter worth $813,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ETN. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Eaton in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $337.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,451,287.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total value of $950,584.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,186,411.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $328.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $131.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average is $299.93 and its 200-day moving average is $312.22. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $191.82 and a fifty-two week high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

Eaton Company 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.