Varenne Capital Partners Sells 88,079 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Varenne Capital Partners decreased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 52.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 88,079 shares during the period. Eaton comprises 7.8% of Varenne Capital Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Varenne Capital Partners’ holdings in Eaton were worth $26,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton by 48.9% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in Eaton by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 9.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Melius downgraded Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.16.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $274.05 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $255.65 and a one year high of $379.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $305.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.42. The firm has a market cap of $107.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is 43.79%.

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.