Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 5,057 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,858 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 5,057 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Eaton were worth $9,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,533,000 after buying an additional 13,497 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP increased its position in Eaton by 82.7% in the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 151,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,571,000 after purchasing an additional 68,693 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 285.5% during the 2nd quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 4,254 shares during the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. lifted its position in Eaton by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 38,386 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares during the period. Finally, Eastover Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,167,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Eaton Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of ETN traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $346.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,454,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,724,943. The firm has a market cap of $136.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $354.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $329.77. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $236.20 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Eaton's payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Eaton from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.