Sapient Capital LLC Buys 133 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sapient Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ETN. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Eaton by 0.7% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $836,938,000 after purchasing an additional 316,830 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Eaton by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,798,000 after purchasing an additional 597,700 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Eaton by 253.2% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 1.0% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 13,862 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.20.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

Eaton Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $316.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $342.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.48. The stock has a market cap of $125.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business earned $2.55 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 EPS for the current year.

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.