Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stock Holdings Lessened by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp cut its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 26.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Eaton were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its position 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ETN. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp upgraded Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $356.68.

Eaton Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of ETN stock opened at $246.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $96.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $296.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $330.00. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $236.58 and a twelve month high of $379.99.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Eaton Company 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.