Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,057 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Eaton were worth $9,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ETN. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its position in Eaton by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $346.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $236.20 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $354.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $329.53.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company 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 stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.89.

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.