American Century Companies Inc. Cuts Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 436,209 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 26,466 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.11% of Eaton worth $144,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at about $258,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Eaton by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,848 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,005 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in Eaton by 92.7% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,433 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,795,000 after buying an additional 4,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 30.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 110,319 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,564,000 after buying an additional 25,434 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp upgraded Eaton from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Melius Research restated a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $357.16.

Eaton Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ETN traded down $4.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $281.04. The company had a trading volume of 3,454,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,425,974. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The business's 50-day moving average is $308.63 and its 200-day moving average is $331.57. The stock has a market cap of $110.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is a positive change from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

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.