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

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) dropped 1.2% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $374.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.83.

Eaton Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $345.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $323.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $147.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ETN. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the first quarter valued at approximately $600,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 81.4% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 4,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 1st quarter valued at about $585,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 8.7% during the first quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.