Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Summitry LLC

Summitry LLC trimmed its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,733 shares during the period. Summitry LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $6,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 35,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,874,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at $556,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 18,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,158,000 after purchasing an additional 2,704 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $300.11 on Wednesday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $117.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $309.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.90.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm posted $2.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.68.

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.