Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Holdings Cut by Argent Capital Management LLC

Argent Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,637 shares during the quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $41,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $1,087,983,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Eaton by 323.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $998,255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,270 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Eaton by 2,857.4% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,262,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $394,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,790 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 2,006.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 964,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,326,000 after purchasing an additional 918,936 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the second quarter valued at approximately $225,974,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $355.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $328.00.

Insider Activity

In other Eaton news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,858,328. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Eaton news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total value of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,858,328. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total transaction of $14,762,020.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at $21,451,287.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN traded up $2.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $300.00. 1,950,652 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,173,366. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $307.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $309.52. The company has a market capitalization of $119.94 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $191.82 and a one year high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

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.