Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Lord Abbett & CO. LLC

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lessened its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 536,251 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 81,100 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.14% of Eaton worth $177,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Eaton Trading Up 0.7 %

Eaton stock traded up $1.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $288.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,177,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,630,169. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $281.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $323.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ETN. Melius cut Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research 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 for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.