4,506,529 Shares in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,506,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,495,582,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on Eaton from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp raised Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.16.

Eaton Trading Down 4.8 %

NYSE:ETN opened at $285.60 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $308.63 and its 200-day moving average is $331.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $111.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the company posted $2.55 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

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.