Midwest Professional Planners LTD. Grows Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Midwest Professional Planners LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the quarter. Eaton comprises about 1.7% of Midwest Professional Planners LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Midwest Professional Planners LTD.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $5,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 253.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $753,590,000 after buying an additional 1,629,856 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 42,255.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $243,036,000 after buying an additional 730,594 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in Eaton by 390.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 539,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,421,000 after buying an additional 429,701 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $137,794,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ETN. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $356.20.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $283.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $111.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $317.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $331.31.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. Research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

About Eaton

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.