Gryphon Financial Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lessened its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Eaton by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,665,342,000 after acquiring an additional 56,516 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 15.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $836,938,000 after buying an additional 316,830 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 32.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 253.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $753,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Eaton by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,436,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $476,582,000 after acquiring an additional 13,862 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ETN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective on the stock. Melius downgraded shares of 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.05.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock opened at $293.21 on Monday. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $326.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $332.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

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.