Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Invests $7.44 Million in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 30,907 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,443,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Eaton by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,205,000 after purchasing an additional 7,964 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $2,958,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth $479,000. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ETN shares. Mizuho upped their target price on Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.60.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded up $5.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $308.18. 2,379,197 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,914,643. The stock has a market cap of $123.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.43, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $301.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $255.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $161.12 and a 12-month high of $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 46.88%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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. In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company 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.