Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock Price Down 0.1% - Time to Sell?

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $334.33 and last traded at $334.74. 412,448 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,076,344 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ETN. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lowered Eaton from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Eaton in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $367.83.

Eaton Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $132.64 billion, a PE ratio of 35.71, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $356.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $326.94.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 253.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $753,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 27,075.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,073,976 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $355,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,024 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Eaton by 32.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $801,798,000 after purchasing an additional 597,700 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in Eaton by 31,255.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 478,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $149,928,000 after purchasing an additional 476,639 shares during the period. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Eaton by 8,348.9% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 446,524 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $140,008,000 after buying an additional 441,239 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently 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.