Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Modera Wealth Management LLC

Modera Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 651 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 253.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $753,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629,856 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Eaton by 32.8% in the third 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 during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $137,794,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 390,595 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $277.71 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $109.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $255.65 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $325.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $332.62.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, 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 at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ETN. Barclays decreased their price target on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Melius cut shares of 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $364.65.

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.