Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stock Holdings Cut by Parkside Financial Bank & Trust

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust reduced its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Eaton were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 321.7% during the 4th 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 bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 621.4% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $293.21 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $255.65 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $326.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $115.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted 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 last year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.58%.

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.