Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 400,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,296 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $132,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $258,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth $33,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Eaton by 19.0% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 7,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 74.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,299,000 after buying an additional 11,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 18.4% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 44,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,769,000 after acquiring an additional 6,913 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $246.36 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $236.58 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $296.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $330.13. The firm has a market cap 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 quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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, 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 last year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. Research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI cut their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $356.68.

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.