Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Trading Down 0.4%

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)’s share price traded down 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $324.54 and last traded at $326.73. 179,439 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 2,160,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $327.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $337.88.

Eaton Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $301.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $314.34. The company has a market cap of $130.55 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.35 billion. Equities analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson acquired 2,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,161.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Eaton news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 3,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.12, for a total transaction of $950,584.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,186,411.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its position in shares of Eaton by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 2,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Well Done LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 1.3% during the second quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 7,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fragasso Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton by 3.6% in the first quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.