Holderness Investments Co. Grows Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Holderness Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Eaton makes up 0.9% of Holderness Investments Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $4,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $258,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $295,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Eaton by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 80,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,576,000 after buying an additional 22,367 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 10,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,638,000 after buying an additional 3,660 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.68.

Eaton Stock Up 1.3 %

ETN stock opened at $294.52 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $313.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.40. The company has a market capitalization of $115.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 43.79%.

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.