Tortoise Investment Management LLC Has $122,000 Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 29.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Equitable Trust Co. grew its stake in Eaton by 42.3% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 1,497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. United Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.3% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton by 5.8% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 30,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 5.9% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $277.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $108.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $255.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $320.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $332.04. 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 (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 last year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.58.

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.