Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Down 0.7%

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)’s share price fell 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $326.30 and last traded at $327.60. 450,503 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 2,172,161 shares. The stock had previously closed at $329.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James dropped 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 target price 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, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $337.41.

Eaton Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $132.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $313.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.56.

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

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.39%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were 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 owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,328. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,858,328. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,161.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the first quarter worth about $2,176,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $1,001,000. Griffin Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the first quarter valued at about $813,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $554,000. Finally, IAM Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $599,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

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.