Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 53.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,638 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,604 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its position in Eaton by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC raised its position in Eaton by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH raised its position in Eaton by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC raised its position in Eaton by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 978 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock traded up $2.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $329.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,997,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,660,386. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $287.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.71. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $231.85 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ETN. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $366.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total transaction of $15,593,423.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 489,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 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. Insiders have sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.