Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,695 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,329 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,695 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Eaton were worth $7,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its position in Eaton by 2.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Eaton from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Melius Research reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $357.68.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN stock traded up $7.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $303.41. The stock had a trading volume of 2,895,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,406,472. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $255.65 and a one year high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $118.87 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $311.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.67.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

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.