HM Payson & Co. Has $1.11 Million Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its stake in Eaton by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Eaton by 621.4% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $285.29 on Friday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $321.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $331.96. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $111.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) 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. Equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.79%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.58.

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.