Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 39,520 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 412,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,520 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.10% of Eaton worth $136,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 10,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,459,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Sit Investment Associates Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 38,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,923,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $233,000. Finally, Aviva PLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 281,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $93,362,000 after acquiring an additional 104,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $246.36 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $296.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $330.00. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $236.58 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $96.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ETN. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $356.68.

About Eaton

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.