Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Down 0.7% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) were down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Raymond James lowered their price target on the stock from $375.00 to $365.00. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Eaton traded as low as $286.09 and last traded at $287.42. Approximately 315,678 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,159,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $289.38.

ETN has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.18.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson acquired 2,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,161.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Eaton news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,858,328. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,161.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $1,087,983,000. Coatue Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 3,986,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $960,016,000 after acquiring an additional 195,809 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Eaton by 0.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 18,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Eaton by 323.8% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $998,255,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Down 0.6 %

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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $302.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $311.45. The stock has a market cap of $114.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.93, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.35 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

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.