Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) is Payden & Rygel’s 8th Largest Position

Payden & Rygel trimmed its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 77,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. Eaton makes up approximately 2.2% of Payden & Rygel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Eaton were worth $25,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. United Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $258,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Eaton in the third quarter worth $33,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Eaton by 5.2% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 195,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $64,747,000 after buying an additional 9,612 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 50.2% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 34,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,414,000 after acquiring an additional 11,506 shares during the period. Finally, Temasek Holdings Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,627,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $246.36 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $236.58 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $296.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $330.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.55 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. KeyCorp raised shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $356.68.

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.