Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Trims Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lessened its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 637 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Eaton were worth $622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 142.9% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Karenann K. Terrell bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $149,485. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total value of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,186,411.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Karenann K. Terrell acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $298.97 per share, for a total transaction of $149,485.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,485. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ETN. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. HSBC increased their price target on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.00.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $307.02 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $305.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $310.17. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $191.82 and a 12 month high of $345.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

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.