Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 20,453 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,042,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,453 shares during the period. Eaton comprises about 1.8% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $345,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 83.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Eaton by 621.4% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ETN. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $364.65.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $277.71 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $325.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $332.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 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.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 43.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.