Korea Investment CORP Sells 29,458 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Korea Investment CORP cut its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 302,721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 29,458 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Eaton were worth $100,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in Eaton by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its position in Eaton by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ETN shares. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on Eaton from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.16.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $285.60 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $308.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.57. The stock has a market cap of $111.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.79%.

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.