Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 11,588 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its holdings in Eaton Corporation by 2.9%, selling 11,588 shares, and now owns 388,932 shares valued at approximately $105.7 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased their stakes, with Canopy Partners LLC boosting its share by 18.4% and Meeder Asset Management increasing by 106.9% during the same quarter.
• Eaton recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04, with a yield of 1.06%, scheduled for payment on August 22nd.

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 388,932 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,588 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Eaton worth $105,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,593,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Bearing Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $2,713,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank boosted 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 acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust boosted 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 acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 owned 490,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $158,214,632. The trade was 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 valued at $49,622,894 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock traded down $3.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $381.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,812,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,047,641. The firm's fifty day moving average is $349.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.50. The company has a market capitalization of $149.14 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.17. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 52-week low of $231.85 and a 52-week high of $399.56. 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 earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $396.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, July 14th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Eaton from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six investment 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 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.