Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Twin Capital Management Inc.

Twin Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 236 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Amarillo National Bank increased its holdings in Eaton by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 1,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 17,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,220,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton 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 transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock opened at $308.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $300.20 and a 200-day moving average of $253.91. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $161.12 and a 12-month high of $331.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $123.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.52, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays raised Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.60.

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.