Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Sells 38 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 142.9% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $355.00 price target (up from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.00.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded up $7.50 during trading on Thursday, reaching $301.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,426,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,168,179. The company has a fifty day moving average of $305.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $310.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $191.82 and a 12 month high of $345.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.35 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Eaton

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

About Eaton

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.