DnB Asset Management AS Acquires 3,784 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 109,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,784 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Eaton were worth $36,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,351,506,000 after acquiring an additional 99,291 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,495,582,000. 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 valued at $836,938,000 after acquiring an additional 316,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised 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 in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock opened at $281.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $307.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.22. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $255.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $110.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ETN. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Melius cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.16.

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.