Gregory R. Page Sells 10,000 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stock

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Eaton Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $335.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Eaton Co. plc has a twelve month low of $231.84 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The company has a market cap of $132.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $356.37 and its 200 day moving average is $326.88.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Eaton’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ETN. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.83.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Breakwater Investment Management grew its position in shares of Eaton by 1,560.0% during the 2nd 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. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in Eaton during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Eaton by 83.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by 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.