Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Bought by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 158,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,664 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $52,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in Eaton by 83.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 621.4% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $313.11 on Monday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $343.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $331.07. The company has a market cap of $123.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.96, a PEG 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 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Melius cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.20.

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.