Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Raises Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,199,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 175,009 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Eaton were worth $398,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Eaton by 0.9% during the 4th 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 boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth 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 raised its stake in Eaton by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its holdings in Eaton by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Trading Down 4.8 %

Eaton stock opened at $285.60 on Thursday. 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $308.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $331.57. The company has a market capitalization of $111.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ETN shares. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their target price on Eaton from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.