Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 269 shares during the quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank raised its position in Eaton by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 3,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,304,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 3,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 1,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 647 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $342.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $355.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $329.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $236.04 and a 12 month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.89.

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.