Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Purchased by Alerus Financial NA

Alerus Financial NA lifted its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Eaton comprises about 1.4% of Alerus Financial NA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Alerus Financial NA’s holdings in Eaton were worth $18,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in Eaton by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its holdings in Eaton by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $281.04 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $307.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.22.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Eaton from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.16.

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.