Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) Holdings Decreased by Physicians Financial Services Inc.

Key Points

• Physicians Financial Services Inc. has reduced its stake in Eaton Corporation by 10%, holding 6,723 shares worth approximately $1.83 million after selling 748 shares in the most recent quarter.
• Eaton reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.72, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70, with a revenue increase of 7.3% year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, with a yield of 1.06%, and significant insider sales took place, including Craig Arnold selling over 103,000 shares.

Physicians Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,723 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 748 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 0.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,593,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Bearing Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,713,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 4.9% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,505 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $953,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its holdings in Eaton by 5.4% in the first quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Eaton by 5.4% in the first quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 3,145 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $392.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,334,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,936,998. The firm has a market cap of $153.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.65, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $345.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $316.18. 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 Corporation, PLC has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $399.56.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ETN shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $355.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $377.89.

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.