Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 534 shares during the period. Eaton makes up 2.9% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $6,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ETN. RB Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 74.8% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 101,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,390,000 after purchasing an additional 43,381 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 374,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,790,000 after buying an additional 2,057 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Eaton by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 1st quarter valued at $1,188,000. 81.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ETN shares. Barclays increased their price target on Eaton from $170.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. HSBC increased their price target on Eaton from $161.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on Eaton from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Argus increased their price target on Eaton from $195.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Eaton from $188.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.93.

Eaton Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $217.64 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $129.85 and a 52 week high of $240.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $86.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.11.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.10. Eaton had a return on equity of 19.06% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 4th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 100,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.45, for a total transaction of $21,945,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 516,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,428,218.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Thomas B. Okray sold 4,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.09, for a total transaction of $1,143,895.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,702,440.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.45, for a total value of $21,945,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 516,875 shares in the company, valued at $113,428,218.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 116,650 shares of company stock worth $25,686,391. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Company 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.