Capital International Investors Makes New Investment in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,577,547 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $523,541,000. Capital International Investors owned about 0.40% of Eaton at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $1,495,582,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 42,255.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $243,036,000 after purchasing an additional 730,594 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in Eaton by 390.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 539,673 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $193,421,000 after purchasing an additional 429,701 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 3,508.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $133,321,000 after purchasing an additional 390,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 607.7% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 412,788 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $132,295,000 after purchasing an additional 354,459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ETN. Melius Research reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on Eaton from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $350.22.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock traded up $10.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $285.68. 1,201,622 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,627,663. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $323.96. The firm has a market cap of $111.92 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $231.85 and a 12 month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 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 firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

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.