Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Sells 2,000 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd lessened its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 55.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Eaton were worth $531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in Eaton by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position in Eaton by 321.7% in the 4th 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. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Eaton in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 621.4% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ETN. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.68.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $294.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $115.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $316.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $331.54. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

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.