Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $8.51 Million in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,510,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $2,665,342,000 after purchasing an additional 56,516 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 15.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $836,938,000 after acquiring an additional 316,830 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in 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 worth $801,798,000 after acquiring an additional 597,700 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Eaton by 253.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,255,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,555,000 after purchasing an additional 37,138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $297.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $116.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.30, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $255.65 and a 1 year high of $379.99. 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 $315.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.78.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share 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 prior year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 positive change 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 1.40%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Melius cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their target price on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. KeyCorp raised Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.68.

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.