Sit Investment Associates Inc. Buys 608 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 38,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $12,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on ETN shares. StockNews.com lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp raised shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. 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 research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $356.68.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $246.36 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $96.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $236.58 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $296.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $330.00.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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.