Westwood Management Corp IL Sells 77,600 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Westwood Management Corp IL decreased its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 68.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,620 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 77,600 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for about 3.2% of Westwood Management Corp IL's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Westwood Management Corp IL's holdings in Eaton were worth $8,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ETN shares. Barclays upgraded Eaton from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.94.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $318.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,248,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,885,912. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $156.80 and a one year high of $331.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $296.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $251.17.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. Eaton's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is a positive change from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Eaton's payout ratio is 46.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

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.