Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by First Pacific Financial

First Pacific Financial trimmed its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ETN. S.A. Mason LLC grew its position in Eaton by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 26,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,320,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 44,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,670,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 increased its position in shares of Eaton by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 2,269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 12,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $314.63 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.64. The company has a market cap of $125.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.23, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $155.38 and a 1 year high of $317.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.20.

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.