Patten Group Inc. Has $5.03 Million Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Patten Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 410 shares during the quarter. Eaton accounts for approximately 1.1% of Patten Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in Eaton were worth $5,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ETN. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $277.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $325.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $332.62. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $255.65 and a 52 week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 43.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $364.65.

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.