Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 1,470 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,470 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $6,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 13,497 shares during the period. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted 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 valued at $5,949,000 after acquiring an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings 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. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock opened at $274.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $305.90 and its 200-day moving average is $331.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Eaton from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.16.

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.