Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $50,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 8,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,487,000 after buying an additional 2,231 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Eaton by 3,508.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $133,321,000 after acquiring an additional 390,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,095,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ETN. Mizuho upped their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.89.

Eaton Price Performance

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

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.