Fermata Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Fermata Advisors LLC grew its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 148.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,183 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in Eaton by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its stake in Eaton by 321.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth about $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on ETN shares. Evercore ISI lowered Eaton from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $382.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.89.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN stock traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $346.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,454,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,489,136. The company has a market cap of $136.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $236.20 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $354.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $329.53.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the firm's 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 $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. Corporate insiders own 0.33% 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.