Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Sells 456 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 456 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 0.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC grew its position in Eaton by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position 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, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock opened at $285.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 52-week low of $255.65 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $321.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $331.96.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is 43.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton 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 sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Melius lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.58.

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.