Cozad Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 36 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Eaton by 48.9% during 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 period. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in Eaton by 52.4% during 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 period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 9.3% during 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 period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Eaton by 13.2% during 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $297.31 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $315.29 and its 200 day moving average is $331.78. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $255.65 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ETN. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp upgraded Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Melius cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.68.

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.