Boston Partners Sells 49 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Boston Partners decreased its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 49 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Eaton were worth $695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ETN. United Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth $258,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth $295,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 15.7% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 5.5% in the third quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth $207,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $295.88 on Friday. 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 cap of $115.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $255.65 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $311.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $331.37.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 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 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.68.

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.