Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Purchased by RiverFront Investment Group LLC

RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 44.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 450 shares during the quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Eaton by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 109,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,432,000 after purchasing an additional 3,784 shares during the period. Alerus Financial NA boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Alerus Financial NA now owns 54,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,009,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $4,148,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 19,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,374,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,495,582,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Melius cut shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.16.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $274.05 on Friday. 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 Co. plc has a one year low of $255.65 and a one year high of $379.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $305.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.79%.

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.