Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Harbour Investments Inc.

Harbour Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 253.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $753,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 42,255.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $243,036,000 after purchasing an additional 730,594 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $801,798,000 after purchasing an additional 597,700 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 390.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 539,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,421,000 after purchasing an additional 429,701 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth about $137,794,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp upgraded Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.68.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $294.53 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $316.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.81. 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 has a market capitalization of $115.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $255.65 and a 52-week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.79%.

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.