L & S Advisors Inc Sells 9,371 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

L & S Advisors Inc trimmed its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,371 shares during the quarter. Eaton comprises about 1.0% of L & S Advisors Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Eaton were worth $9,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 48.9% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at about $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in Eaton by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Eaton by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp raised 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. Barclays decreased their target price on Eaton from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.16.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN stock opened at $274.05 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $255.65 and a one year high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $107.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $305.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $331.12.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is 43.79%.

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.