Godsey & Gibb Inc. Cuts Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Godsey & Gibb Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,510 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for approximately 2.5% of Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $25,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 83.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its position in Eaton by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117 in the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI cut Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.89.

Eaton Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ETN opened at $342.35 on Thursday. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $236.04 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $355.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $329.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $135.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

About Eaton

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.