Mechanics Financial Corp Cuts Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Mechanics Financial Corp reduced its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in Eaton were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 83.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ETN shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.16.

Eaton Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $274.05 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $255.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The company has a market cap of $107.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $305.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.12.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

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

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.