Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Up 1.2%

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) rose 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $310.65 and last traded at $310.35. Approximately 405,505 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 2,156,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $306.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $337.41.

Eaton Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $312.10. 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 company has a market capitalization of $131.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,186,411.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Eaton news, Director Karenann K. Terrell purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,485. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total value of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,186,411.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Eaton by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 2,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 2,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 180,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,386 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently 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.