Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,695 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Eaton were worth $7,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of Eaton by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $294.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $313.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.40. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $255.65 and a 1 year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ETN. Citigroup cut their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp raised shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Melius cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.