Meyer Handelman Co. Decreases Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Meyer Handelman Co. lessened its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,556 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,648 shares during the period. Eaton makes up about 1.3% of Meyer Handelman Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Meyer Handelman Co.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $38,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 253.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $753,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 27,075.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,073,976 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $355,959,000 after buying an additional 1,070,024 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 32.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in Eaton by 31,255.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 478,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $149,928,000 after acquiring an additional 476,639 shares during the period. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Eaton by 8,348.9% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 446,524 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $140,008,000 after acquiring an additional 441,239 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Eaton from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.89.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN traded up $2.21 on Wednesday, reaching $342.35. 2,753,071 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,377,813. The stock has a market cap of $135.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $236.04 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $355.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $329.33.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Eaton's payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.