Guardian Partners Inc. Invests $885,000 in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $885,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ETN. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,665,342,000 after purchasing an additional 56,516 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $836,938,000 after buying an additional 316,830 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Eaton by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $753,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Eaton by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,255,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,555,000 after acquiring an additional 37,138 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Melius lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.68.

Eaton Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $295.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, 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 current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $311.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.37. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $255.65 and a 1 year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 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.