Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Position Reduced by Howland Capital Management LLC

Howland Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 254 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $5,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,595,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,812,966,000 after buying an additional 259,615 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $1,087,983,000. Coatue Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 3,986,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $960,016,000 after buying an additional 195,809 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,804,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,189,488,000 after buying an additional 64,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,163,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,998,000 after buying an additional 27,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC upped their price target on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $355.00 price target (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.06.

Eaton Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Eaton stock traded up $1.71 on Thursday, hitting $328.78. 2,060,970 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,003,500. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $325.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $191.82 and a 12-month high of $345.19. The company has a market cap of $131.45 billion, a PE ratio of 38.62, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.