Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Sells 81,100 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC decreased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 536,251 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 81,100 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Eaton worth $177,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,495,582,000. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at $523,541,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $243,036,000 after buying an additional 730,594 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in shares of Eaton by 390.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 539,673 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $193,421,000 after buying an additional 429,701 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 3,508.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $133,321,000 after acquiring an additional 390,595 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN traded down $1.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $289.33. 899,400 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,620,101. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $280.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $322.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $231.85 and a one year high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $113.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 period last year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ETN. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $289.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Eaton from $396.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on Eaton from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.