Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stake Cut by LMR Partners LLP

LMR Partners LLP decreased its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 80.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,062 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP’s holdings in Eaton were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ETN. IAM Advisory LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth $599,000. Interval Partners LP grew its position in shares of Eaton by 82.7% during the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 151,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,571,000 after acquiring an additional 68,693 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 285.5% in the 2nd quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 4,254 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,657,000 after purchasing an additional 5,676 shares during the period. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 67.6% in the 2nd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 3,452 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $360.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $142.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.01. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $224.52 and a fifty-two week high of $373.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $339.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $322.31.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Eaton from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target for the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $374.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,241,796.60. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,705 shares of company stock worth $24,516,346 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.