Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stake Boosted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 99,291 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Eaton worth $12,351,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ETN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $753,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 42,255.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $243,036,000 after buying an additional 730,594 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 32.8% in 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 buying an additional 597,700 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 429,701 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted 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 valued at $133,321,000 after buying an additional 390,595 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $295.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $311.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.37. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $255.65 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Evercore ISI cut their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.