Hills Bank & Trust Co Acquires 947 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 85.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 947 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Eaton were worth $680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. United Bank bought a new position in Eaton during the third quarter worth about $258,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $295,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 89.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 57,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,906,000 after purchasing an additional 26,995 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 4,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $294.53 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $255.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The stock has a market cap of $115.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $316.31 and a 200-day moving average of $331.54. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. 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 company 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 dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. KeyCorp raised Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.68.

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.