Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Decreases Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lessened its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 38.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $100,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 1.7% in the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. increased its stake in Eaton by 3.6% during the first quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Eaton by 5.6% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. increased its stake in Eaton by 4.0% during the first quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN stock traded up $2.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $329.08. 1,177,429 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,996,809. The firm has a market cap of $131.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $325.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.25. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $191.82 and a twelve month high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. Eaton’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 44.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. HSBC increased their price target on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Raymond James initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on Eaton from $316.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus raised their target price on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.06.

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.