Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Purchased by Davidson Investment Advisors

Davidson Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors’ holdings in Eaton were worth $17,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its position in Eaton by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Eaton by 621.4% during 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. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton 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 owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $309.21 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $337.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.20 billion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.