Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Holdings Decreased by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,070 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $19,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Eaton by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. BCS Wealth Management acquired a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,205,000 after acquiring an additional 7,964 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $2,958,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth $479,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 is available at this link. In related news, 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 transaction of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.60.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $309.40. 316,670 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,871,282. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $300.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.91. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $161.12 and a 12 month high of $331.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 46.88%.

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.