Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC Reduces Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 194 shares during the period. Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Eaton by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Telemus Capital LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Amarillo National Bank grew its holdings in Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 1,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management grew its holdings in Eaton by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 2,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 17,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,220,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 over the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Trading Up 2.3 %

Eaton stock traded up $7.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $324.30. 2,305,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,383,996. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $162.04 and a 52-week high of $331.47. The company has a market capitalization of $129.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.42, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $304.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $258.28.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays upgraded Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.60.

Eaton 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.