Eaton Corporation, PLC $ETN Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 508,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,540 shares during the period. Eaton accounts for 1.1% of Congress Asset Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.13% of Eaton worth $161,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 45,998 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,830,000 after acquiring an additional 4,156 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 14.2% in the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 121,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,485,000 after acquiring an additional 15,048 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 8.8% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 370,531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,276,000 after acquiring an additional 29,900 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in Eaton by 6.0% in the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 162,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,866,000 after purchasing an additional 9,233 shares during the period. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,339,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ETN shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Eaton in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $430.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $354.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Eaton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.11.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total transaction of $4,178,513.82. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,821,519.54. The trade was a 27.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $360.03 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.42, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $359.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.86. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $408.45.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Eaton had a return on equity of 25.00% and a net margin of 14.89%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Corporation, 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 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 42.07%.

About Eaton

Eaton (NYSE: ETN) is a diversified power management company that designs, manufactures and distributes products and systems to manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company’s offerings are used to improve energy efficiency, reliability and safety across a wide range of applications, with core capabilities in electrical distribution and control, industrial hydraulics and aerospace systems.

Its product portfolio includes switchgear, circuit breakers, transformers, power distribution units, uninterruptible power supplies and surge protection devices for electrical infrastructure, along with hydraulic pumps, valves and filtration systems for industrial and mobile equipment.