Foster & Motley Inc. Sells 1,428 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Key Points

• Foster & Motley Inc. reduced its stake in Eaton Corporation by 22.6%, selling 1,428 shares, which brought its total holdings to 4,891 shares valued at approximately $1.33 million.
• Despite the reduction in ownership, institutional investors currently hold 82.97% of Eaton’s stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Eaton's stock has seen a solid performance, achieving a fifty-two week low of $231.85 and a high of $399.56, while recent analyst ratings generally reflect a positive outlook with many suggesting a buy rating.

Foster & Motley Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,891 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,428 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,071 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,340,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. AGH Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 2.6% in the first quarter. AGH Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 4.2% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 951 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tritonpoint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 3.9% in the first quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Eaton Trading Down 0.8%

Eaton stock traded down $3.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $381.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,416,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,049,141. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $350.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.79. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $399.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $149.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.18.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of Eaton 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 sale, the insider directly owned 490,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $158,214,632. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp raised their price target 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. BNP Paribas began 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. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $396.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $377.89.

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.