Federated Hermes Inc. Has $88.27 Million Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 366,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 45,610 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $88,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 in the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $308.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $300.20 and a 200-day moving average of $253.91. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $161.12 and a 52-week high of $331.47. The company has a market cap of $123.42 billion, a PE ratio of 38.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays raised Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.60.

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.