Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 244 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 3.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,351,506,000 after purchasing an additional 99,291 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,051,807,000 after acquiring an additional 182,455 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,714,677,000 after acquiring an additional 129,071 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,550,226,000 after acquiring an additional 192,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Eaton by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,518,207,000 after acquiring an additional 368,241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Eaton from $306.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Eaton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total transaction of $15,593,423.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 489,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,490,880.92. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $337.95 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $313.96. Eaton Co. plc has a 1 year low of $231.85 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The company has a market capitalization of $132.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.98%.

Eaton Company 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.