Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stock Position Lowered by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB lessened its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 36.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26,703 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Eaton were worth $15,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted 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 valued at $193,421,000 after acquiring an additional 429,701 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its stake in Eaton by 142.3% in the 4th quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 3,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $998,000 after buying an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Bradyco Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,258,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in Eaton by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 3,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $285.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $255.65 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $321.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $331.71. The company has a market cap of $111.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period in the prior 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 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.