Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 17,800 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 138,676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 17,800 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $45,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Breakwater Investment Management boosted its holdings in Eaton by 1,560.0% in the second quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eaton in the first quarter worth about $33,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Eaton in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $355.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $340.06.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,186,411.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total value of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,186,411.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $348.18. 1,173,441 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,114,890. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $314.01 and a 200 day moving average of $316.67. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $191.82 and a 1 year high of $349.74.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. On average, analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.