Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 1,453,302 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 41.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,040,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,453,302 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $639,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $554,000. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, J. W. Coons Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 12,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,126,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup started coverage on Eaton in a report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $337.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,858,328. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Eaton news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,161.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,858,328. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $333.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $300.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $313.23. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $191.82 and a 12 month high of $345.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $132.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.32, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.35 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.