Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Has $4.49 Million Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 43.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,979 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $4,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Eaton by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,351,506,000 after acquiring an additional 99,291 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,051,807,000 after purchasing an additional 182,455 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,714,677,000 after purchasing an additional 129,071 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,550,226,000 after buying an additional 192,482 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Eaton by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,518,207,000 after buying an additional 368,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $325.56 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $301.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.72. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $231.85 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.39 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ETN shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $306.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. 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. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total value of $15,593,423.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 489,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.