Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Sells 765 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. cut its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 765 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $6,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opulen Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $215,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 72.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 5,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 145,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,227,000 after purchasing an additional 12,038 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.15.

Eaton Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of ETN opened at $287.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $323.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $332.18. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $255.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 43.79%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.