Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stake Boosted by Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,858 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Eaton were worth $15,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 621.4% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ETN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp raised shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $356.20.

Eaton Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of ETN opened at $294.53 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $316.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share 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 previous year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s 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.