Patron Partners LLC Sells 48 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Patron Partners LLC reduced its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of Eaton by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its holdings in Eaton by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $315.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Eaton Co. plc has a 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $349.23 and a 200 day moving average of $331.21. The company has a market capitalization of $124.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a 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 dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,981 shares of company stock worth $26,318,917. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their target price for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho increased their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Eaton from $407.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.20.

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.