Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 604 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RB Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 3.5% in the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Eaton by 74.8% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 101,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,390,000 after acquiring an additional 43,381 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 0.6% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 374,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,790,000 after acquiring an additional 2,057 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Eaton by 9.1% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Ergoteles LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the first quarter worth about $1,188,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $318.50 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $156.80 and a 52-week high of $331.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $127.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $296.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.45.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 46.88%.

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.