Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. lowered its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 46.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,907 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,345 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $1,087,983,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 2,006.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 964,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,326,000 after purchasing an additional 918,936 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $181,411,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Eaton by 207.5% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 970,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,698,000 after purchasing an additional 654,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 19.9% in the 4th 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. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $313.28 on Wednesday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $191.82 and a 12-month high of $345.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $125.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $325.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.64.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ETN. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research 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 price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.06.

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.