McIlrath & Eck LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $64,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective (up from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded down $3.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $308.53. 1,008,229 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,012,901. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $307.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.80. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $165.24 and a 52-week high of $333.05. The company has a market cap of $123.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.33 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.39%.

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.