Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Sells 2,070 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC cut its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 60.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,070 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its position in Eaton by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 16.0 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $310.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $122.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $244.35 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $353.96 and its 200-day moving average is $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ETN. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Melius downgraded Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton 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 value of $534,554.96. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 over the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.