Spring Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Spring Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 33,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 862 shares during the period. Eaton accounts for 6.3% of Spring Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $7,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,248,960,000 after buying an additional 5,270,331 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $798,119,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 122,471.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,619,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $411,107,000 after buying an additional 2,617,213 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Eaton by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,542,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,968,521,000 after purchasing an additional 2,602,246 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $340,500,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.20.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $314.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $125.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $155.38 and a fifty-two week high of $317.02. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $278.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

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