First Merchants Corp Lowers Holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

First Merchants Corp decreased its stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 33.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,292 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,149 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp's holdings in Eaton were worth $623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $42,839,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $135,000. Finally, Nwam LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 5,314 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,764,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup upped their price target on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $368.78.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total value of $15,593,423.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 489,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $353.74 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $318.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $312.83. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 12 month low of $231.85 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.70, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.98%.

Eaton 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.

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