First Bancorp Inc ME Boosts Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

First Bancorp Inc ME boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 99.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,971 shares during the quarter. Eaton makes up about 2.3% of First Bancorp Inc ME’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in Eaton were worth $3,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its stake in Eaton by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity 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 value of $22,224,561.93. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly 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 sold a total of 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. 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 research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.89.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock opened at $368.63 on Friday. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $241.87 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $145.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.22, 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $353.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.35.

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