AMF Tjanstepension AB Sells 32,088 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

AMF Tjanstepension AB lowered its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 20.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 121,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32,088 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Eaton were worth $37,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 142.9% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ETN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised their price target on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.06.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Trading Down 0.1 %

ETN stock traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $313.55. 2,524,471 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,028,571. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $191.82 and a one year high of $345.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $125.36 billion, a PE ratio of 37.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $325.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.34.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

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.