Beacon Financial Group Decreases Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Beacon Financial Group reduced its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,814 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for approximately 1.0% of Beacon Financial Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Eaton were worth $8,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ETN. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton by 48.9% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Eaton by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ETN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock opened at $316.92 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $342.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $331.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $125.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. Eaton Co. plc has a one year low of $255.65 and a one year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.