Xponance Inc. Buys 2,854 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,854 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $19,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $8,510,000. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 16,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,393,000 after buying an additional 4,082 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Eaton by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 82,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennondale Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,216,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Up 1.3 %

Eaton stock opened at $297.31 on Tuesday. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $255.65 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $315.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $331.78. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $116.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.30, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $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 year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.68.

Eaton 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.