Sciencast Management LP Buys 355 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sciencast Management LP grew its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the quarter. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eaton by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,665,342,000 after purchasing an additional 56,516 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 15.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $836,938,000 after buying an additional 316,830 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 32.8% during the third 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 253.2% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 1,629,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,255,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,555,000 after acquiring an additional 37,138 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $295.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $311.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $331.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $115.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99.

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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ETN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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, March 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Melius cut shares of 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.68.

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.