Davis R M Inc. Trims Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Davis R M Inc. lowered its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 195,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,770 shares during the period. Eaton accounts for 1.3% of Davis R M Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $64,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Eaton by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in Eaton by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,949,000 after acquiring an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 9.3% in the 4th 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 stake in Eaton by 13.2% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $277.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $108.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $320.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $332.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Eaton

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.