Welch Group LLC Has $715,000 Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Welch Group LLC cut its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Eaton by 10.6% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. First County Bank CT increased its position in Eaton by 2.7% in the first quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 4,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Eaton by 27,281.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,593,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $976,772,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580,198 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its position in Eaton by 6.4% in the first quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 5,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Eastover Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Eaton by 4.1% in the first quarter. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,260,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total value of $15,593,423.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 489,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.83.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $324.77 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $318.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $127.08 billion, a PE ratio of 34.19, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 41.98%.

Eaton Company 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.