Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stock Position Reduced by Cornerstone Capital Inc.

Cornerstone Capital Inc. decreased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,862 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Eaton by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,351,506,000 after purchasing an additional 99,291 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,051,807,000 after acquiring an additional 182,455 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,714,677,000 after buying an additional 129,071 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,495,582,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Eaton by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,744,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $910,881,000 after buying an additional 323,065 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $268.15 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $231.85 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $284.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $325.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $105.05 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

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. Analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. 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 yield of 1.55%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Eaton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $350.22.

Eaton Company 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.