Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,403,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 254,650 shares during the period. Eaton makes up approximately 0.9% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.85% of Eaton worth $1,067,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Breakwater Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 1,560.0% in the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 142.9% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total transaction of $14,762,020.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ETN. Evercore ISI reduced 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $337.41.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $331.44 on Tuesday. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $191.82 and a 1 year high of $345.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $301.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.04. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $132.51 billion, a PE ratio of 39.13, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

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.