Heritage Trust Co Invests $427,000 in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Heritage Trust Co bought a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $1,495,582,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 42,255.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $243,036,000 after acquiring an additional 730,594 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Eaton by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 539,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,421,000 after acquiring an additional 429,701 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Eaton by 3,508.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,321,000 after acquiring an additional 390,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 607.7% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 412,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,295,000 after purchasing an additional 354,459 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $277.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $108.57 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $289.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $327.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $379.99.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.04 dividend. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Melius downgraded Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.06.

Eaton Company 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.