Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $345.99 Million Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,042,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,453 shares during the quarter. Eaton makes up approximately 1.8% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.26% of Eaton worth $345,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.1% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $277.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $325.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $332.62. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $255.65 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $364.65.

Eaton 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.