Highland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $8,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 253.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $753,590,000 after buying an additional 1,629,856 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 27,075.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,073,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $355,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,024 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $801,798,000 after purchasing an additional 597,700 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $137,794,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3,508.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,321,000 after purchasing an additional 390,595 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 over the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $317.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $245.65 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $351.98 and a 200 day moving average of $331.21.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ETN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.30.

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.