Northwest Bancshares Inc. Lowers Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Northwest Bancshares Inc. trimmed its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 343 shares during the period. Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Eaton by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,206,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,005,317,000 after buying an additional 18,077 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Eaton by 323.8% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $998,255,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439,270 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 2.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,422,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $471,370,000 after acquiring an additional 40,078 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 15.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,318,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $412,108,000 after acquiring an additional 176,571 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 27,075.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,073,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $355,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,024 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Trading Up 1.6 %

Eaton stock opened at $363.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $143.72 billion, a PE ratio of 38.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $338.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $322.04. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $224.52 and a 52 week high of $373.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total value of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,186,411.68. The trade was a 44.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 68,705 shares of company stock worth $24,516,346 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ETN. Citigroup began coverage on Eaton in a report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.83.

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.