Institute for Wealth Management LLC. Cuts Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Institute for Wealth Management LLC. reduced its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in Eaton by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. BCS Wealth Management purchased a new position in Eaton in the third quarter valued at about $216,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,205,000 after acquiring an additional 7,964 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $2,958,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth about $479,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded down $5.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $303.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,921,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,891,713. The company has a market cap of $121.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.29, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $161.12 and a 52 week high of $331.47. The business’s 50-day moving average is $300.20 and its 200 day moving average is $253.91. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

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.