Cullen Investment Group LTD. Reduces Stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC $ETN

Cullen Investment Group LTD. lowered its holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,841 shares during the quarter. Eaton makes up 2.5% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $19,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bath Savings Trust Co increased its holdings in Eaton by 398.6% during the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 2,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $929,000 after buying an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 438.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 364,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $116,217,000 after acquiring an additional 297,166 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in Eaton by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $1,339,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $375.10 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $361.66 and its 200 day moving average is $356.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 1 year low of $231.85 and a 1 year high of $408.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total transaction of $4,178,513.82. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,821,519.54. This represents a 27.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ETN. Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $413.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down from $440.00) on shares of Eaton in a report on Sunday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $340.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $430.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Eaton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.11.

Eaton Company Profile

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.