Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Shares Sold by Citizens National Bank Trust Department

Citizens National Bank Trust Department cut its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,987 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 502 shares during the period. Eaton accounts for approximately 1.9% of Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Eaton were worth $8,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Eaton by 253.2% during 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 worth $753,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 27,075.5% in the 3rd 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 increased 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 worth $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $137,794,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Eaton by 3,508.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,321,000 after buying an additional 390,595 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Eaton from $407.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eaton Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $309.31 on Thursday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $255.65 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $334.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $332.04. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $122.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) 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 return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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.