IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Lowers Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd trimmed its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 22.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,847 shares during the quarter. Eaton comprises about 0.8% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Eaton were worth $6,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. United Bank bought a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.1% in the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at $144,000. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its position in Eaton by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,410,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $285.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $308.63 and its 200 day moving average is $331.57. The stock has a market cap of $111.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $255.65 and a one 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Melius lowered 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. StockNews.com downgraded Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.16.

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.