Aviva PLC Raises Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Aviva PLC lifted its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 58.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 281,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,225 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned about 0.07% of Eaton worth $93,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Eaton by 48.9% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its holdings in Eaton by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Eaton by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $246.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $96.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $236.58 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $296.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $330.00.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $356.68.

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.