Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Has $17.78 Million Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,587 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $17,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on ETN shares. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective on the stock. Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock opened at $309.21 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $337.21 and a 200-day moving average of $331.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 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 firm has a market capitalization of $122.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 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 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 company earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.