Stephens Inc. AR Sells 7,922 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Stephens Inc. AR cut its stake in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,813 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,922 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Eaton were worth $14,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Eaton by 102.0% in the 1st quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Eaton from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $370.63.

Eaton Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:ETN traded up $3.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $360.67. 1,697,991 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,674,048. The firm's fifty day moving average is $332.74 and its 200-day moving average is $313.48. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The company 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 firm posted $2.40 EPS. Eaton's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $33,400,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.