Ritholtz Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 17,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,220,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Eaton by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:ETN opened at $312.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $124.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.99, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $280.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $243.15. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $155.38 and a 52 week high of $317.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. Eaton’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.88%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.20.

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.