XML Financial LLC Cuts Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

XML Financial LLC decreased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Genesis Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $331,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 13,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,453,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,795,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of ETN stock opened at $371.36 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $353.58 and its 200 day moving average is $330.45. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $239.17 and a 12-month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Eaton’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 in the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ETN shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price on the stock. Four 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, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.89.

About Eaton

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.