Fractal Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Fractal Investments LLC trimmed its position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 57.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 749 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,001 shares during the period. Fractal Investments LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Eaton by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,109,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Eaton by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,839,000. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $319,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Eaton by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 540,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $179,708,000 after buying an additional 52,547 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Eaton from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Eaton from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $377.89.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, 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 transaction, the insider owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 3,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded up $5.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $390.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 938,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,066,375. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $391.36. 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 50 day moving average price of $343.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $315.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.40, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.17.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Eaton's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Eaton's payout ratio is 41.98%.

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.