Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment reduced its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,272 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Eaton were worth $2,390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $357.16.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN traded down $23.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $260.74. 5,551,734 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,562,072. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $255.65 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $298.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $330.42. The company has a market cap of $102.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton's payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

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.