Empowered Funds LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 994 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ETN. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its stake in Eaton by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at $33,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Eaton in the third quarter worth $37,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $307.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. 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 twelve month low of $255.65 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $339.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their target price for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Eaton from $407.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton 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.