Regal Investment Advisors LLC Sells 814 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Regal Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 814 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 48.9% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,533,000 after purchasing an additional 13,497 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in Eaton by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,949,000 after buying an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Eaton by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ETN shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $396.00 to $323.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $350.22.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock opened at $277.03 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $287.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $326.48. The firm has a market cap of $108.53 billion, a PE ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $231.85 and a one year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.