Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Purchased by Buffington Mohr McNeal

Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Bank of America upped their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their target price for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Four investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % 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 over the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Down 16.0 %

ETN opened at $310.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $244.35 and a one year high of $379.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $353.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

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.