Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Cullen Capital Management LLC

Cullen Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 721 shares during the quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $4,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ETN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Eaton by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its stake in Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth 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 period. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 4.8% in the fourth 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 grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $246.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $296.43 and its 200-day moving average is $330.00. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $236.58 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.04 dividend. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ETN. StockNews.com lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $356.68.

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.