Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Bought by Alta Advisers Ltd

Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd’s holdings in Eaton were worth $431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted 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 valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 3.2 %

Eaton stock opened at $259.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $283.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $324.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a PEG 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 $231.85 and a 52-week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 43.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Eaton from $396.00 to $323.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $350.22.

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.