Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lessened its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,459 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Breakwater Investment Management raised 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the third quarter worth $37,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,186,411.68. The trade was a 44.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 68,705 shares of company stock valued at $24,516,346. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $376.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $323.22. The stock has a market cap of $148.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $224.52 and a 1-year high of $379.12.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

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.