Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Price Target to $405.00

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) had its price target lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $407.00 to $405.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ETN. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI cut Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.20.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $315.04 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $124.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. Eaton has a fifty-two week low of $255.65 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $346.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.28.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eaton will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $275,000. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 56,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,905,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Eaton by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 7,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,510,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

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.