Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 277 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying 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.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its position in Eaton by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $312.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $124.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $280.35 and its 200-day moving average is $243.15. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $155.38 and a 12-month high of $317.02.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. 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. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 over the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ETN. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. 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 note on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.