Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 31.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,036 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH boosted its holdings in Eaton by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $283.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $111.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $317.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $331.31. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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, 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders 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 is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $356.20.

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.