Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Eaton by 323.8% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $998,255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,270 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2,857.4% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,262,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $394,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,790 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $225,974,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1,604.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 673,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $211,201,000 after purchasing an additional 634,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 31,255.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 478,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,928,000 after buying an additional 476,639 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Karenann K. Terrell acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,485. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Eaton news, Director Karenann K. Terrell acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $298.97 per share, for a total transaction of $149,485.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,485. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $335.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.61, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.02. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $191.82 and a 52 week high of $345.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $304.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $314.92.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. Sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $319.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.47.

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.