Argent Capital Management LLC Has $38.86 Million Holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC $ETN

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Eaton by 3.2% in Q4, holding 122,005 shares valued at $38.86 million after selling 3,998 shares.
• Insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares on Feb. 12 for roughly $4.18 million, trimming his position by 27.86%; insiders now own about 0.30% of the company.
• Eaton raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 (annualized $4.40) with an ex-dividend date of March 10, implying a yield of about 1.2%.

Argent Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,005 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,998 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $38,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ETN. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth $40,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth $70,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter valued at $72,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total transaction of $4,178,513.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,821,519.54. The trade was a 27.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of ETN stock opened at $360.00 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $358.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.54. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $408.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $139.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.42, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.17.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Eaton had a return on equity of 25.00% and a net margin of 14.89%. As a group, research analysts predict that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ETN. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Eaton from $340.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Eaton in a report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $430.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $407.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $395.11.

About Eaton

Eaton NYSE: ETN is a diversified power management company that designs, manufactures and distributes products and systems to manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company's offerings are used to improve energy efficiency, reliability and safety across a wide range of applications, with core capabilities in electrical distribution and control, industrial hydraulics and aerospace systems.

Its product portfolio includes switchgear, circuit breakers, transformers, power distribution units, uninterruptible power supplies and surge protection devices for electrical infrastructure, along with hydraulic pumps, valves and filtration systems for industrial and mobile equipment.

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