Allianz SE Makes New $738,000 Investment in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $738,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ETN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $1,495,582,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 32.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $801,798,000 after purchasing an additional 597,700 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings 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. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Eaton by 3,508.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.16.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $274.05 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $107.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $305.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $331.66. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Eaton Company 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.