Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,291 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.42% of Eaton worth $12,351,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank acquired a new position in Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $258,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $295,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in Eaton by 15.7% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 5.5% in the third quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $295.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $311.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company earned $2.55 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company 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 an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.68.

Eaton Company 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.