Woodline Partners LP Lowers Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Woodline Partners LP lowered its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 92.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 188,330 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP’s holdings in Eaton were worth $5,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ETN. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 621.4% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $321.19 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $290.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.81, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.83.

Insider Activity

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 490,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.