Buffington Mohr McNeal Boosts Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Eaton by 0.9% during 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 buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.0% during the third quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 1,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in 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 valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its position in Eaton by 3.5% during 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 last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at $17,241,796.60. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $310.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $244.35 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $353.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.47. 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 (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. Citigroup lowered 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.89.

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.