Curbstone Financial Management Corp Lowers Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp lowered its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,154 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Eaton were worth $586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total transaction of $15,593,423.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 489,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock opened at $325.56 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $301.79 and a 200-day moving average of $315.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $231.85 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Eaton’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 41.98%.

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.