Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock Price Up 1.3%

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)’s share price was up 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $318.11 and last traded at $315.63. Approximately 682,784 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 2,158,272 shares. The stock had previously closed at $311.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ETN. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $337.41.

Eaton Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $300.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $126.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. Analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Karenann K. Terrell acquired 500 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $298.97 per share, for a total transaction of $149,485.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,485. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Karenann K. Terrell bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,485. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Breakwater Investment Management grew its position in Eaton by 1,560.0% during the second quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its stake in Eaton by 142.9% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.