Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. Cuts Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 8.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ETN. Fragasso Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 3.6% in 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. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 2.6% in 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. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Telemus Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amarillo National Bank boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 1,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target (up from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.06.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $313.55. 2,557,711 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,258,211. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $191.82 and a 52 week high of $345.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $325.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.04.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.39%.

About Eaton

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.