Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Sells 75 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. cut its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Eaton accounts for 1.5% of Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $3,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 83.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its position in Eaton by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Eaton in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $297.31 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $315.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.78. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $255.65 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The company has a market cap of $116.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, 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.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.68.

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.