Dillon & Associates Inc. Grows Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Dillon & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 835 shares during the period. Dillon & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during 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 valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $295.88 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $311.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.67. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $255.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $115.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued 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 1.41%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.68.

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.