Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. Cuts Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Groupama Asset Managment raised 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position in shares of Eaton by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Eaton by 621.4% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the third quarter worth $37,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $316.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $342.21 and a two-hundred day simple 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. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $255.65 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ETN. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Eaton from $407.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.20.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.