Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) was down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $334.33 and last traded at $334.74. Approximately 412,448 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,076,344 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ETN. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho upped their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.83.

Eaton Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $356.37 and a 200-day moving average of $326.88. The company has a market capitalization of $133.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.03.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Breakwater Investment Management boosted its stake in Eaton by 1,560.0% during the second quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth $33,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the second quarter worth about $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 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.