Sunflower Bank N.A. Reduces Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sunflower Bank N.A. decreased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Weitzel Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 1st quarter worth $234,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its position in shares of Eaton by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 7,194 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of Eaton by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Eaton by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 70,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,968,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 6,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded down $4.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $318.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,019,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,011,568. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $324.63 and its 200 day moving average is $288.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.30 billion, a PE ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.04. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $191.82 and a twelve month high of $345.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.27.

Eaton 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.