Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Boosts Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,022 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Eaton were worth $9,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its position in shares of Eaton by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC grew its position in Eaton by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $308.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $333.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $331.88. The company has a market capitalization of $122.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.52, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced 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 net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ETN. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $407.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.05.

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.