SFE Investment Counsel Trims Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

SFE Investment Counsel trimmed its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 542 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its position in Eaton by 142.9% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton during the second quarter valued at $29,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eaton in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the first quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on Eaton in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.76.

Eaton Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of ETN stock opened at $284.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $191.82 and a 12 month high of $345.19. The stock has a market cap of $113.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $310.93.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.35 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 44.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,161.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,186,411.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,161.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326. Company 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.