Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Baxter Bros Inc.

Baxter Bros Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 699 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 3.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.68.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $303.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $118.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $255.65 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $310.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.79.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share 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 last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.