Employees Retirement System of Texas Sells 41,555 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Employees Retirement System of Texas lowered its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 213,650 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 41,555 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for approximately 3.4% of Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned 0.05% of Eaton worth $709,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ETN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 0.9% during the fourth 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 grew its stake in Eaton by 3.1% during 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 holdings 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its position 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 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.

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Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded up $6.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $277.13. 3,833,121 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,620,567. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.17, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company's 50-day moving average price is $289.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $327.22. 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.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. This is a positive change 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius cut Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Eaton from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $355.06.

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.