Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by GAM Holding AG

GAM Holding AG cut its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 926 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG's holdings in Eaton were worth $3,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,665,342,000 after purchasing an additional 56,516 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton by 15.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $836,938,000 after acquiring an additional 316,830 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 32.8% in 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 253.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,436,051 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $476,582,000 after acquiring an additional 13,862 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $407.00 to $405.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Melius Research reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $366.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN traded down $11.71 on Friday, reaching $297.11. The stock had a trading volume of 4,399,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,361,916. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $255.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business's 50-day moving average price is $331.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $332.05. The company has a market cap of $117.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Company 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.