Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Buys 41,497 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 136.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 41,497 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Eaton were worth $23,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 48.9% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,533,000 after purchasing an additional 13,497 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $297,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in Eaton by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,949,000 after buying an additional 6,166 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,072,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN stock opened at $327.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.26 billion, a PE ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $351.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $331.12. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $245.65 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its 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 the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays raised their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Melius cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 72,981 shares of company stock valued at $26,318,917. 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.