Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) Shares Bought by Argent Trust Co

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co has increased its holdings in Eaton Corporation by 4.0%, bringing their total investment to approximately $5.03 million after acquiring an additional 705 shares.
• Insider transactions revealed significant equity sales, with Craig Arnold selling over 103,000 shares for more than $33 million, resulting in a 17.43% decrease in his ownership.
• Eaton announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 41.98%.

Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 705 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co's holdings in Eaton were worth $5,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,051,807,000 after purchasing an additional 182,455 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,550,226,000 after buying an additional 192,482 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,518,207,000 after purchasing an additional 368,241 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 27,281.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,593,321 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $976,772,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,007,570 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $998,144,000 after purchasing an additional 588,370 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 490,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $158,214,632. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ETN. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Eaton from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $377.89.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN traded down $27.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $357.67. The stock had a trading volume of 2,714,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,046,961. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.69. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $399.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $139.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.93 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.73 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Eaton's payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

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.