Heritage Trust Co Purchases New Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Heritage Trust Co purchased a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,287 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $427,000.

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

Eaton Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Eaton stock traded up $0.88 on Thursday, hitting $270.04. 1,340,005 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,623,800. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $286.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $326.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $105.79 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Eaton from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $396.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $350.22.

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.