Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Bought by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 198,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,072 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $65,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. First Financial Bankshares Inc lifted its position in Eaton by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 212,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $70,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 5,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,786,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Eaton by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 20,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,754,000 after acquiring an additional 2,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Marin lifted its holdings in Eaton by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Marin now owns 1,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 1.3 %

ETN stock opened at $294.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $313.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $331.40. 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 has a market capitalization of $115.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $255.65 and a one year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 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 last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Melius downgraded Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.68.

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.