Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Bought by New England Research & Management Inc.

New England Research & Management Inc. increased its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 128.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Eaton Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $317.90 on Thursday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $245.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $351.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The firm 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ETN. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.30.

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.