Viawealth LLC Sells 53 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Viawealth LLC decreased its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. Viawealth LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 48.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its position in Eaton by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,949,000 after buying an additional 6,166 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 valued at $4,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their target price on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.68.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $294.52 on Thursday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $313.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.40. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $255.65 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The company has a market capitalization of $115.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS 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 prior year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend 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.