Spring Capital Management LLC Has $8 Million Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Spring Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 862 shares during the period. Eaton makes up about 6.3% of Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $7,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Eaton by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,336,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,749,751,000 after acquiring an additional 176,900 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 36.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,248,960,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270,331 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Eaton by 3.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,034,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,425,595,000 after acquiring an additional 495,948 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 26.2% in 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 buying an additional 2,602,246 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.0% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,084,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,210,672,000 after buying an additional 136,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.20.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $314.40 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $125.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.23, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $278.80 and its 200 day moving average is $242.64. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $155.38 and a twelve month high of $317.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.88%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 in the last ninety days. 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.