Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 540,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,547 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $179,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of Eaton by 83.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position in shares of Eaton by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.68.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $295.88 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $311.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.67. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $115.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase 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.