Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Bought by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,495,582,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 42,255.3% in 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 period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in Eaton by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 539,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,421,000 after buying an additional 429,701 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Eaton by 3,508.4% during 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. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in Eaton by 607.7% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 412,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,295,000 after buying an additional 354,459 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $268.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $105.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 50 day simple moving average of $285.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $325.65. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $231.85 and a 1-year high of $379.99.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Eaton from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $289.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $350.22.

Eaton 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.