Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Chapin Davis Inc.

Chapin Davis Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for 1.0% of Chapin Davis Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Chapin Davis Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Eaton by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,595,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,812,966,000 after purchasing an additional 259,615 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,087,983,000. Coatue Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 3,986,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $960,016,000 after acquiring an additional 195,809 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Eaton by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,739,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $900,600,000 after acquiring an additional 138,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,163,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,998,000 after purchasing an additional 27,386 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James started coverage on Eaton in a report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.06.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $315.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $126.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $325.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $191.82 and a 12-month high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

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

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.