VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Invests $386,000 in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $386,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Eaton by 48.9% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,533,000 after buying an additional 13,497 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in Eaton by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,949,000 after buying an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Eaton by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,804,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 2.2 %

ETN stock opened at $290.59 on Wednesday. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $314.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $113.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.59, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ETN. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has an average 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.