Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Lansdowne Partners UK LLP

Lansdowne Partners UK LLP cut its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,454 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,533 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for about 2.0% of Lansdowne Partners UK LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Lansdowne Partners UK LLP's holdings in Eaton were worth $27,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,495,582,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 42,255.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 732,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $243,036,000 after acquiring an additional 730,594 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in Eaton by 390.7% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 429,701 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in 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 valued at $133,321,000 after purchasing an additional 390,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 354,459 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded down $7.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $269.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,411,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,602. The company has a market capitalization of $105.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.36, a P/E/G 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. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $287.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $326.48. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $231.85 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Eaton's payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. Melius Research restated a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays reduced their target price on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $396.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $350.22.

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.