Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC cut its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 266,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,030 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $88,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.22.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $327.99 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The company has a market capitalization of $128.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $286.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.82.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total transaction of $15,593,423.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 489,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the business’s 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. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.