Secure Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Secure Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 188 shares during the quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 253.2% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 27,075.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,073,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $355,959,000 after buying an additional 1,070,024 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $137,794,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Eaton by 3,508.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $133,321,000 after acquiring an additional 390,595 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ETN. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.89.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $368.63 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $353.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $331.00. The firm has a market cap of $145.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $241.87 and a 12 month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % 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 worth $27,660,117. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

About Eaton

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.