Keybank National Association OH Lowers Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Keybank National Association OH decreased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 246,932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,899 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Eaton were worth $81,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ETN. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after purchasing an additional 13,497 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,949,000 after buying an additional 6,166 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Eaton by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $277.71 on Tuesday. 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 Co. plc has a 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $325.70 and a 200-day moving average of $332.62. The company has a market capitalization of $109.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their price target on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $364.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton 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 sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.