Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock Price Up 0.7%

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) shot up 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $330.86 and last traded at $329.58. 295,817 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,170,673 shares. The stock had previously closed at $327.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ETN. Citigroup began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James cut their price target on Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $337.41.

Eaton Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $130.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $313.12.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.35 billion. On average, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors 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 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total value of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,328. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total value of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,328. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Karenann K. Terrell acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,485. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,595,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,812,966,000 after purchasing an additional 259,615 shares in the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 3,986,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $960,016,000 after buying an additional 195,809 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Eaton by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,206,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,005,317,000 after buying an additional 18,077 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Eaton by 323.8% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $998,255,000 after buying an additional 2,439,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Eaton by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,029,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $488,815,000 after buying an additional 337,351 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Eaton

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.