Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stock Holdings Decreased by CoreFirst Bank & Trust

CoreFirst Bank & Trust reduced its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 798 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in Eaton by 36.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,248,960,000 after purchasing an additional 5,270,331 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,087,983,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position 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 valued at $232,326,000 after purchasing an additional 918,936 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $181,411,000. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Eaton by 207.5% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 970,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,698,000 after acquiring an additional 654,855 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ETN shares. HSBC boosted 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. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $355.00 price objective (up from $340.00) on shares of Eaton 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 twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.27.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN traded up $6.39 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $325.41. 2,552,457 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,022,462. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $189.26 and a 12 month high of $345.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $323.98 and a 200 day moving average of $287.44. 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 stock has a market cap of $130.10 billion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.04.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

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

Eaton Company 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.