Providence Capital Advisors LLC Grows Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Eaton accounts for about 1.3% of Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $6,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,495,582,000. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Eaton by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 82,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,508,000 after acquiring an additional 20,275 shares during the period. LM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $880,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 46,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,316,000 after purchasing an additional 10,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,199,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $398,222,000 after purchasing an additional 175,009 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $281.04 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $307.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $331.22. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $255.65 and a one year high of $379.99. 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 company has a market cap of $110.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. 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 (DPR) is 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.16.

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.