Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 1,263,026 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,030,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,263,026 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for 0.9% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,996,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,495,582,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 42,255.3% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted 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 valued at $801,798,000 after purchasing an additional 597,700 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake 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 valued at $193,421,000 after purchasing an additional 429,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3,508.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,321,000 after buying an additional 390,595 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp raised shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.16.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock opened at $276.77 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $302.79 and its 200 day moving average is $331.23. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $255.65 and a one year high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $108.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 issued 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.79%.

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.