Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Increases Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 27.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Eaton by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,351,506,000 after acquiring an additional 99,291 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,665,342,000 after purchasing an additional 56,516 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 15.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $836,938,000 after purchasing an additional 316,830 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,798,000 after purchasing an additional 597,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 253.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $753,590,000 after buying an additional 1,629,856 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $281.04 on Friday. 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 $110.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $255.65 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.22.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS 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 firm earned $2.55 EPS. Sell-side 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 paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Melius cut shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.16.

About Eaton

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.