Modera Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Modera Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 651 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 2.1% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ETN. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $364.65.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $277.71 on Tuesday. 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 Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $325.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its 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 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 43.79%.

Eaton 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.