Putnam Investments LLC Sells 1,824 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Putnam Investments LLC lowered its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,824 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $3,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RB Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 3.5% during the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Eaton by 74.8% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 101,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,390,000 after buying an additional 43,381 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Eaton by 0.6% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 374,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,790,000 after buying an additional 2,057 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Eaton by 9.1% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the first quarter valued at $1,188,000. Institutional investors own 81.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Eaton from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Eaton from $170.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Eaton from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. HSBC boosted their price objective on Eaton from $161.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Eaton from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.93.

Eaton Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of ETN opened at $217.64 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.11. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $129.85 and a 1 year high of $240.44. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.76 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 19.06% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Thomas B. Okray sold 4,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.09, for a total transaction of $1,143,895.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,702,440.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 1,869 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.68, for a total transaction of $423,664.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,684,459.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas B. Okray sold 4,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.09, for a total value of $1,143,895.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,702,440.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 116,650 shares of company stock valued at $25,686,391. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.