Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Purchased by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC increased its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 58.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 281,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,225 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $93,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $1,495,582,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 42,255.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $243,036,000 after purchasing an additional 730,594 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 390.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 539,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,421,000 after purchasing an additional 429,701 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 3,508.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,321,000 after purchasing an additional 390,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,744,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $910,881,000 after purchasing an additional 323,065 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $246.36 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $296.43 and a 200 day moving average of $330.00. The firm has a market cap of $96.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $236.58 and a one year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ETN. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $356.68.

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.