12,850 Shares in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Acquired by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,850 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,265,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Terra Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,146,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Eaton by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,113 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in Eaton by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 62,464 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,730,000 after purchasing an additional 8,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,630 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN traded up $7.97 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $303.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,895,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,406,472. 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 $118.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $311.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $331.67. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99.

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Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is a positive change from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton's payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ETN. KeyCorp upgraded Eaton from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Melius Research restated a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $357.68.

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.