Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 15,488 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 423,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,488 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Eaton worth $140,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $297,000. Bearing Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,713,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its position in shares of Eaton by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup increased their price target on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Melius cut Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $361.13.

Eaton Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE ETN traded up $4.20 on Wednesday, reaching $302.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,888,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,640,503. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. The company's fifty day moving average is $281.41 and its 200 day moving average is $320.94. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $231.85 and a 52-week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

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.