Meyer Handelman Co. Has $38.68 Million Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Meyer Handelman Co. lowered its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,648 shares during the quarter. Eaton makes up about 1.3% of Meyer Handelman Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $38,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Moseley Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 8,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,231 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Eaton by 3,508.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,321,000 after acquiring an additional 390,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho increased their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI cut shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.61.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $339.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $236.04 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $134.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $355.38 and its 200-day moving average is $329.33.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117 over the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.