Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stock Position Lowered by Wambolt & Associates LLC

Wambolt & Associates LLC lowered its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,301 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for approximately 1.3% of Wambolt & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $4,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 35,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,874,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $556,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in Eaton by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $665,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in Eaton by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 18,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,158,000 after acquiring an additional 2,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,935,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $642,464,000 after purchasing an additional 107,979 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.68.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $303.41 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $310.56 and a 200-day moving average of $331.79. 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 twelve month low of $255.65 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $118.87 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio 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.