Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,684 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.60.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $310.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $123.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.67, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $161.12 and a 1-year high of $331.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $299.48 and a 200-day moving average of $253.53.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.88%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.