Marshall Financial Group LLC Decreases Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Marshall Financial Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 317 shares during the quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 142.9% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective (up from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.06.

Eaton Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $318.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $325.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.51. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $191.82 and a 1 year high of $345.19. The stock has a market cap of $127.30 billion, a PE ratio of 37.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

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.