Leavell Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 825 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 in the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Stock Down 0.2 %

Eaton stock opened at $320.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $287.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $246.27. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $155.38 and a fifty-two week high of $326.21. The company has a market capitalization of $127.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.73.

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.