CoreFirst Bank & Trust Invests $984,000 in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 2.7 %

ETN opened at $303.41 on Tuesday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99. 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 50-day moving average of $310.56 and a 200 day moving average of $331.79. The firm has a market cap of $118.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.