Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,262,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 298,898 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,082,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Eaton by 48.9% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after purchasing an additional 13,497 shares during the period. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. raised its position in shares of Eaton by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,949,000 after buying an additional 6,166 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,072,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN opened at $274.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $305.90 and a 200-day moving average of $331.66. 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 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Melius lowered shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Eaton from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.16.

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.