Ritholtz Wealth Management Grows Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RB Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Eaton by 74.8% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 101,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,390,000 after purchasing an additional 43,381 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.6% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 374,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,790,000 after buying an additional 2,057 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 9.1% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,188,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:ETN opened at $312.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $155.38 and a 12 month high of $317.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is $280.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.15.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 8th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on ETN shares. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Eaton from $246.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.20.

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.