Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 8,614 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,614 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $14,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Breakwater Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 1,560.0% during the second quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,186,411.68. This trade represents a 44.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 68,705 shares of company stock worth $24,516,346. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Trading Down 0.9 %

ETN traded down $3.23 on Wednesday, hitting $360.46. 1,463,941 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,106,570. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.45 billion, a PE ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $322.04. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $224.52 and a 12 month high of $373.49.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Eaton's payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $374.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $431.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $348.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.83.

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.