American Century Companies Inc. Sells 26,466 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 436,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26,466 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $144,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its holdings in Eaton by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $295.88 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $115.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $311.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $331.67.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays cut their target price on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.68.

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.