Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 69.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 278,332 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $33,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,995 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,317,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total transaction of $15,593,423.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 489,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $149,490,880.92. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.78.

Eaton Trading Down 2.1%

ETN stock traded down $7.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $323.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,565,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,084. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $231.85 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The business's 50 day moving average price is $303.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.40. The company has a market cap of $126.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The business's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.98%.

Eaton 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.