Van ECK Associates Corp Takes $22.02 Million Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 66,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,022,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 181,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,013,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 52.6% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 26,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,820,000 after purchasing an additional 9,174 shares in the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 18.4% during the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 46.0% during the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 2,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $941,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its stake in Eaton by 6.2% during the third quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 3,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $309.21 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $338.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.30. 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 52-week low of $255.65 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The company has a market cap of $122.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton 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 transaction of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 at this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ETN shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.20.

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.