Gries Financial LLC Has $3.71 Million Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Gries Financial LLC increased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. Eaton accounts for 0.7% of Gries Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $3,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its holdings in 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 bought a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America upped their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their target price for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 in the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $317.90 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $351.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.21. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $245.65 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $125.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53.

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

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.