BOCHK Asset Management Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

BOCHK Asset Management Ltd cut its position in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 52.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Eaton makes up 0.2% of BOCHK Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Eaton were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,351,506,000 after purchasing an additional 99,291 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,051,807,000 after purchasing an additional 182,455 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,714,677,000 after purchasing an additional 129,071 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,550,226,000 after purchasing an additional 192,482 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 368,241 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $369.06.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock traded down $2.88 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $355.61. 418,079 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,656,636. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a fifty-two week low of $231.85 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99. The company has a market capitalization of $139.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's fifty day moving average is $327.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.77.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Eaton's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% 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.