Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 72,422 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $37,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 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 valued at $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in Eaton by 52.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,072,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Melius lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.68.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $300.11 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $309.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $331.90. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

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.