Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Purchased by RiverFront Investment Group LLC

RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 44.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 450 shares during the quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its position 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 during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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 dropped their target price 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. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.16.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $274.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $255.65 and a one year high of $379.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $305.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $331.42.

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, topping 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 last year, the company posted $2.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

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.