Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,664 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $52,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Eaton by 48.9% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. raised its stake in Eaton by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,072,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Eaton by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton 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 sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN 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 stock has a market capitalization of $123.74 billion, a PE ratio of 32.96, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $343.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $331.07. 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 posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ETN. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.20.

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.