Mizuho Securities USA LLC Purchases 11,641 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 45.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 11,641 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $12,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 0.7% in 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. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 15.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 316,830 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 32.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,798,000 after acquiring an additional 597,700 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 253.2% during the third 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 valued at $753,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,255,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,555,000 after acquiring an additional 37,138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $295.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $311.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $331.08. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $255.65 and a 52-week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. Analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. 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 report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup reduced 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.