Stifel Financial Corp Cuts Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Stifel Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,374,873 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 37,318 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.35% of Eaton worth $456,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Eaton in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Bard Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth $255,000. Advisory Resource Group boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 4,358 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. raised its stake in Eaton by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 220 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at about $265,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $396.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Melius lowered Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Eaton from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $350.22.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded up $11.73 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $287.39. 2,751,088 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,629,968. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $282.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $323.96. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $112.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a PEG 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.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.