AMF Tjanstepension AB Sells 26,703 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

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

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 253.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $753,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 730,594 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 32.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Eaton by 390.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 429,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth about $137,794,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Up 2.8 %

Eaton stock opened at $285.29 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $321.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.71. 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 market capitalization of $111.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.58.

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.