Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,309,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 720,354 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for approximately 0.8% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 2.12% of Eaton worth $2,258,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ETN. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in Eaton by 0.7% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,071 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,378,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. AGH Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 2.6% in the first quarter. AGH Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 4.2% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 951 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tritonpoint Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 3.9% in the first quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 490,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $158,214,632. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ETN. Citigroup raised their price target on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $370.63.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN stock opened at $360.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $332.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $313.29. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a fifty-two week low of $231.85 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.13 billion, a PE ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.17.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. Eaton's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. 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.

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