Kentucky Trust Co Acquires New Shares in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its holdings in Eaton by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 70,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,551,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 25,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,575,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $935,000. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Eaton by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,740,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $309.93 on Thursday. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $255.65 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.48 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. 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 simple moving average is $341.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.62.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ETN. Mizuho boosted their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.