Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,338,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 96,067 shares during the quarter. Eaton comprises approximately 1.9% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Eaton worth $322,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 23,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,096,000 after buying an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,544,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $324.17 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.28. The company has a market cap of $129.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $162.04 and a 52 week high of $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.88%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ETN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.60.

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.