DDD Partners LLC Sells 463 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

DDD Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 89,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 463 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for approximately 2.9% of DDD Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. DDD Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $21,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Eaton news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.20.

Eaton Trading Up 0.8 %

Eaton stock opened at $314.63 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $278.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $125.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $155.38 and a 12 month high of $317.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

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.