Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Down 0.3% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $357.41 and last traded at $357.73. Approximately 256,477 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 2,078,399 shares. The stock had previously closed at $358.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ETN. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $431.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI cut 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $367.83.

Eaton Stock Down 0.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $141.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $355.33 and a 200-day moving average of $326.59.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. Eaton's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton's payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the business'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 transaction of $534,554.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,981 shares of company stock worth $24,100,317. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS bought a new position in Eaton in the third quarter worth approximately $385,000. 1ST Source Bank grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 2,808 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $931,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 76.8% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,771 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,210,000 after acquiring an additional 10,764 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Eaton during the third quarter valued at about $8,406,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Eaton by 15.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $836,938,000 after buying an additional 316,830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

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.

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