Welch & Forbes LLC Has $1.18 Million Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 29.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 803 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth about $391,000. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth about $241,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton by 4.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 457,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,584,000 after acquiring an additional 17,965 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in Eaton by 22.6% during the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 8,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Planning Corp raised its holdings in Eaton by 2.0% during the third quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 23,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,931,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Stock Up 2.8 %

ETN opened at $285.29 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $321.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.71. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The stock has a market cap of $111.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Melius lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.