Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $2.81 Million Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 55.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,012 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its position in Eaton by 16.2% in the third quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Eaton from $407.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI downgraded Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.20.

Eaton Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $319.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $343.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $331.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.45 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by 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.