Adirondack Trust Co. Sells 357 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Adirondack Trust Co. decreased its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 45.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 357 shares during the period. Adirondack Trust Co.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at $1,087,983,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Eaton by 2,006.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 964,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,326,000 after acquiring an additional 918,936 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $181,411,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 207.5% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 970,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,698,000 after buying an additional 654,855 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,029,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $488,815,000 after buying an additional 337,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $327.49 on Wednesday. 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 $130.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.04. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $189.26 and a fifty-two week high of $345.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $324.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.12.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. 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 firm posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ETN. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Argus raised their target price on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.27.

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.