Guardian Partners Inc. Makes New $885,000 Investment in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $885,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ETN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Eaton by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC increased its position in Eaton by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup cut their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.68.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN stock opened at $295.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $311.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $331.37. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $255.65 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results 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 prior year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 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.