Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Lowers Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 301 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Eaton by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,665,342,000 after purchasing an additional 56,516 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 15.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $836,938,000 after buying an additional 316,830 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 32.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 253.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $753,590,000 after buying an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,436,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $476,582,000 after buying an additional 13,862 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of ETN stock opened at $289.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $114.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $330.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $332.83. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $255.65 and a 1 year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ETN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho raised their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% 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.