Verus Capital Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Verus Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 253.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $753,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Eaton by 42,255.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $243,036,000 after buying an additional 730,594 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 32.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at about $137,794,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 3,508.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $133,321,000 after acquiring an additional 390,595 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock opened at $293.21 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $255.65 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $326.90 and its 200 day moving average is $332.29. The company has a market cap of $115.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given 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 yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 39.58%.

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.