Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Northcape Wealth Management LLC

Northcape Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 234 shares during the period. Eaton makes up 1.6% of Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $4,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Long Island Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at $315,000. Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Eaton by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 27,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,106,000 after buying an additional 907 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 0.8% in the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter valued at about $229,000. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 2.9% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,998,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total value of $950,584.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,186,411.68. The trade was a 44.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,705 shares of company stock valued at $24,516,346. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 0.8 %

ETN opened at $358.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.87 billion, a PE ratio of 38.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $224.52 and a 12-month high of $373.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $335.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $321.35.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.83.

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.