Carnegie Investment Counsel Lowers Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Carnegie Investment Counsel reduced its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 177,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,811 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for approximately 1.7% of Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Eaton were worth $58,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Eaton by 253.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $753,590,000 after buying an additional 1,629,856 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 27,075.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,073,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $355,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,024 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,798,000 after acquiring an additional 597,700 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 8,348.9% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 446,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $140,008,000 after purchasing an additional 441,239 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Eaton during the third quarter valued at $137,794,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI downgraded Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.89.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock opened at $345.02 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $236.04 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $355.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $329.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

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.