Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Trading Up 1.1%

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) shares shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $292.10 and last traded at $288.16. 412,571 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 2,162,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $284.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. 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 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.18.

Eaton Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $118.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.01. 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 $301.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total transaction of $14,762,020.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at $21,451,287.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,161.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326 over the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 0.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,087,983,000. Coatue Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 3,986,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $960,016,000 after buying an additional 195,809 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,206,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,005,317,000 after buying an additional 18,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 323.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $998,255,000 after buying an additional 2,439,270 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.