Marietta Investment Partners LLC Increases Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares during the quarter. Eaton makes up 2.0% of Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $9,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 48.9% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its stake in Eaton by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the period. 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 valued at $3,072,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $295.88 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $311.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.08. The company has a market capitalization of $115.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 43.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ETN. Citigroup reduced their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.68.

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.