Congress Asset Management Co. Raises Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 524,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,022 shares during the period. Eaton makes up about 1.2% of Congress Asset Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $174,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its holdings in Eaton by 321.7% in the fourth 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 position in Eaton in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $407.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Melius cut shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.20.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $309.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $122.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $337.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $331.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.