West Paces Advisors Inc. Has $1.28 Million Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

West Paces Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Financial Corp IN boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the first quarter worth approximately $251,000. Mechanics Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 5.5% during the first quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Eaton by 1.9% in the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,735,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Argus lifted their price objective on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.27.

Eaton Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE:ETN traded down $7.49 on Wednesday, hitting $315.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,836,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,019,856. 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 $126.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $324.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.47. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $191.82 and a 1-year high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

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

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.