Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,489 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,199 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $42,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $1,495,582,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 27,281.9% in the first 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. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $523,541,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 42,255.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $243,036,000 after buying an additional 730,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $231,552,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 18th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, 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 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.78.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock traded down $7.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $323.05. The stock had a trading volume of 929,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,268,590. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $303.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $315.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $126.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $231.85 and a 52-week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Eaton's payout ratio is 41.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total transaction of $15,593,423.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 489,444 shares in the company, valued at $149,490,880.92. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton 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 now owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.