Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 99,291 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 99,291 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.42% of Eaton worth $12,351,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ETN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Melius lowered 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, KeyCorp raised Eaton from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $357.16.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded down $4.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $281.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,454,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,428,180. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $307.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $331.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.10 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS 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 firm earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

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.