Prospector Partners LLC Has $23.77 Million Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Prospector Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,651 shares during the quarter. Eaton makes up approximately 2.6% of Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $23,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,351,506,000 after acquiring an additional 99,291 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,714,677,000 after buying an additional 129,071 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,495,582,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,744,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $910,881,000 after acquiring an additional 323,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,255,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,555,000 after buying an additional 37,138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 5.6 %

Eaton stock opened at $246.36 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $236.58 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $96.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $296.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $330.13.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is 43.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $356.68.

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.