Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.58 Million Stock Holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Merit Financial Group LLC decreased its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $1,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Eaton by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at about $351,000. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 5.3% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 37,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,977,000 after buying an additional 1,871 shares during the period. Bensler LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the third quarter valued at about $201,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.27.

Eaton Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE ETN opened at $320.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.56. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $165.24 and a 52 week high of $333.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $308.68 and a 200-day moving average of $261.94.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.45 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

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.