611 Shares in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Purchased by Maple Capital Management Inc.

Maple Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Eaton by 621.4% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.05.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $293.21 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $326.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. Eaton Co. plc has a fifty-two week low of $255.65 and a fifty-two 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is 39.58%.

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.