Shareholders' Equity

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Shareholders' Equity [Abstract]

Shareholders' Equity

Note 7. Shareholders’ Equity

     Cooper Industries plc has common shares, $.01 par value outstanding of 158,101,261 (net of 14,325,562 treasury shares) and 164,130,802 (net of 6,537,900 treasury shares) at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively. During the first nine months of 2011, Cooper purchased 7,787,662 shares of treasury stock at an average price of $49.18 per share under the Board of Directors authorizations discussed below. During the first nine months of 2011, Cooper issued 1,758,121 common shares primarily in connection with employee incentive and benefit plans and Cooper’s dividend reinvestment program.

     On February 9, 2009, Cooper’s Board of Directors authorized the purchase of 10 million shares of common stock. Cooper’s Board has also authorized the repurchase of shares issued from time to time under its equity compensation plans, matched savings plan and dividend reinvestment plan in order to offset the dilution that results from issuing shares under these plans. For 2011 Cooper’s current estimate is that 3 million shares would be issued under equity compensation plans. Cooper may continue to repurchase shares under these authorizations from time to time during 2011. The decision whether to do so will depend on the favorability of market conditions, as well as potential cash requirements for acquisitions and debt repayments. As of September 30, 2011, 3,941,073 shares remain available to be repurchased under the authorizations by the Board of Directors. On November 1, 2011, Cooper’s Board of Directors increased the share repurchase authorization by 10 million shares.