Caprock Group LLC Boosts Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,318 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $4,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ETN. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 83.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 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. Insiders have sold 72,981 shares of company stock valued at $26,318,917 over the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned 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 $369.30.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $326.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $350.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.09. The stock has a market cap of $128.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $245.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current 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.