F M Investments LLC Acquires 2,605 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

F M Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,605 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $12,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,533,000 after purchasing an additional 13,497 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in Eaton by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Melius cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.06.

Eaton Stock Up 13.1 %

Shares of ETN stock opened at $284.47 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $291.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $327.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $231.85 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

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.