Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Purchased by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $4,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its stake in Eaton by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Stock Down 0.3 %

ETN stock opened at $368.63 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $353.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.44. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $241.87 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 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 (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.89.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 three months, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.