Advisors Capital Management LLC Sells 15,631 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Advisors Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,533 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,631 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $30,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its stake in Eaton by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Eaton Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ETN stock traded down $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $268.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,539,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,629,939. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $231.85 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $285.92 and a 200 day moving average of $325.65. The firm has a market cap of $105.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. This is a boost from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Melius Research restated a "hold" rating and issued a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $350.22.

About Eaton

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.