Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 0.5% during the third 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 boosted its position in Eaton by 36.0% during the third 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. State Street Corp boosted its position in Eaton by 3.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,034,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,425,595,000 after acquiring an additional 495,948 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Eaton by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,542,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,968,521,000 after acquiring an additional 2,602,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 2.0% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,084,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,210,672,000 after acquiring an additional 136,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN opened at $314.63 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $278.80 and a 200-day moving average of $242.64. The company has a market capitalization of $125.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.23, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.07. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $155.38 and a 1-year high of $317.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 46.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ETN. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.