Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,506,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,495,582,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.14% of Eaton at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 82,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,508,000 after acquiring an additional 20,275 shares during the period. LM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $880,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 46,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,316,000 after acquiring an additional 10,900 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Eaton by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,199,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $398,222,000 after acquiring an additional 175,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 640,971 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,645,000 after purchasing an additional 61,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $285.60 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $308.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp raised Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.