Cynosure Group LLC Sells 646 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Cynosure Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 646 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank purchased a new position in Eaton in the third quarter worth about $258,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Eaton by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 2,318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter valued at about $3,371,000. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 537.5% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,049 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after acquiring an additional 4,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth about $2,972,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $276.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.23. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $255.65 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99. The company has a market capitalization of $108.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, 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 quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ETN. StockNews.com cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.16.

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.