Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 338 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 182,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 338 shares during the period. Eaton comprises approximately 0.9% of Financial Counselors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $60,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC raised its position in Eaton by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ETN. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.68.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $300.11 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $309.76 and a 200 day moving average of $331.90. The firm has a market cap of $117.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

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, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

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.