Athena Investment Management Sells 169 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Athena Investment Management reduced its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 169 shares during the quarter. Athena Investment Management’s holdings in Eaton were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 48.9% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,533,000 after buying an additional 13,497 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in Eaton by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Eaton by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Melius cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.05.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction 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 approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $293.21 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $326.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $332.29. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $255.65 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $115.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 39.58%.

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.