Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 745 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ETN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Eaton by 253.2% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Eaton by 27,075.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,070,024 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Eaton by 32.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,798,000 after acquiring an additional 597,700 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth approximately $137,794,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3,508.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,321,000 after purchasing an additional 390,595 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ETN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays raised their price target on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI lowered Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.20.

Eaton Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE ETN opened at $309.93 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $341.07 and its 200 day moving average is $331.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The stock has a market cap of $122.48 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. Research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other 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 stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.