Cumberland Partners Ltd Trims Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Cumberland Partners Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 195,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,815 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for approximately 4.0% of Cumberland Partners Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Eaton were worth $46,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,336,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,749,751,000 after acquiring an additional 176,900 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Eaton by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,921,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,248,960,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270,331 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Eaton by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,009,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,068,412,000 after buying an additional 109,775 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Eaton by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,739,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $900,600,000 after buying an additional 138,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Eaton by 97.5% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,860,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $396,767,000 after buying an additional 918,422 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN traded up $4.81 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $312.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,781,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,925,753. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $302.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.66. The company has a market cap of $125.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $161.12 and a 1 year high of $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 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 lifted their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.