M&T Bank Corp Cuts Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

M&T Bank Corp cut its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 95,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,785 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Eaton were worth $31,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new position in Eaton during the third quarter worth about $2,347,000. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eaton in the third quarter worth about $216,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Eaton by 3.2% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 13,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,610,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its position in Eaton by 0.5% in the third quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 7,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,644,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC raised its position in Eaton by 9.2% in the third quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on ETN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.15.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $287.85 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $323.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $332.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 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.