Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Bought by Scharf Investments LLC

Scharf Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in Eaton by 83.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Eaton in the third quarter valued at $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the firm’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 trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 72,981 shares of company stock worth $26,318,917. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.30.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $326.32 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $350.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.09. 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 1-year low of $245.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

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.