Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Trading Down 1.2% After Insider Selling

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) were down 1.2% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $372.17 and last traded at $372.77. Approximately 259,634 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 2,103,776 shares. The stock had previously closed at $377.29.

Specifically, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Eaton in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.83.

Eaton Stock Down 1.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $147.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.01. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $346.61 and its 200-day moving average is $323.89.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. Eaton’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 15.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $836,938,000 after purchasing an additional 316,830 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 15,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,177,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Eaton by 3.2% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 42,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. Castellan Group boosted its holdings in Eaton by 6.2% in the third quarter. Castellan Group now owns 8,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Eaton by 68.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,851,000 after purchasing an additional 12,069 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.