National Pension Service Trims Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

National Pension Service decreased its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 830,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 35,695 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.21% of Eaton worth $275,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $287.12 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $329.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $332.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $113.47 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ETN shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Melius lowered 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, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.05.

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.