Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 103,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,093 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $34,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Eaton by 27,075.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,073,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $355,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,024 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 2nd quarter worth $225,974,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Eaton by 1,604.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 673,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $211,201,000 after buying an additional 634,059 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 31,255.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 478,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,928,000 after buying an additional 476,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 8,348.9% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 446,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $140,008,000 after acquiring an additional 441,239 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $374.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.83.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,117 shares of company stock valued at $25,050,901 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Down 0.3 %

ETN stock opened at $376.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.60 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $345.46 and a 200-day moving average of $323.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $224.52 and a one year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Eaton Company 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.