Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) Position Trimmed by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,999 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,271 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $5,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norden Group LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 978 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 0.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,797,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,587 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN traded up $5.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $353.74. 3,704,268 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,665,307. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $318.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.70, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.16. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 1-year low of $231.85 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. Eaton's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 490,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $158,214,632. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ETN. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a 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. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.78.

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.