Ashburton Jersey Ltd Cuts Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ashburton Jersey Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 62.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,160 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 52,262 shares during the quarter. Eaton comprises approximately 4.6% of Ashburton Jersey Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Ashburton Jersey Ltd's holdings in Eaton were worth $10,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Eaton by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 3,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Eaton by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 400,520 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $132,921,000 after buying an additional 4,296 shares in the last quarter. Sepio Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 1,596 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 3,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its stake in Eaton by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 15,724 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,218,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Eaton Trading Up 1.5 %

ETN stock traded up $4.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $274.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,512,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,607,500. The stock has a market cap of $107.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $231.85 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $290.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $327.58.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. This is a boost from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ETN. Melius Research reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. 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. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $355.06.

Eaton Company 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.