Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lessened its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,580,629 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 45,483 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.40% of Eaton worth $380,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 36.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,248,960,000 after purchasing an additional 5,270,331 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $798,119,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 122,471.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,619,350 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $411,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617,213 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Eaton by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,542,343 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,968,521,000 after purchasing an additional 2,602,246 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $340,500,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Eaton Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE ETN traded up $1.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $318.50. 2,248,538 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,156,799. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $127.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $296.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $251.71. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $156.80 and a 12-month high of $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $295.60.

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.