Financial Insights Inc. Sells 1,770 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Financial Insights Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 69.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 767 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,770 shares during the period. Financial Insights Inc.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,351,506,000 after acquiring an additional 99,291 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,051,807,000 after buying an additional 182,455 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 1.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in Eaton by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,550,226,000 after buying an additional 192,482 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Eaton by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,518,207,000 after buying an additional 368,241 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock traded down $4.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $320.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,787,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,675,021. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $231.85 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The business's 50-day moving average price is $293.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $317.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $125.35 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $367.83.

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.