Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC

FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 42 shares during the quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $1,087,983,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2,006.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 964,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,326,000 after purchasing an additional 918,936 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $181,411,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 207.5% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 970,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,698,000 after purchasing an additional 654,855 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Eaton by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,029,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $488,815,000 after buying an additional 337,351 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James assumed coverage on Eaton in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $355.00 price target (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays raised Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of Eaton stock traded up $5.14 during trading on Thursday, reaching $318.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,122,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,060,987. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $325.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.35. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $191.82 and a 12-month high of $345.19. The company has a market capitalization of $127.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.55 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

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.