Sagefield Capital LP Cuts Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sagefield Capital LP cut its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,166 shares during the period. Eaton accounts for 1.1% of Sagefield Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Sagefield Capital LP’s holdings in Eaton were worth $10,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 621.4% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 490,208 shares in the company, valued at $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 0.8%

ETN opened at $329.40 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $231.85 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $287.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $128.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $355.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.56.

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.