Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock Price Down 0.9% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) dropped 0.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $358.08 and last traded at $358.74. Approximately 254,266 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 2,082,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $361.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on ETN. UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James lowered their target price 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. Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.83.

Eaton Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $141.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $354.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $326.37.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The company 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%. The company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Eaton's payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,241,796.60. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,981 shares of company stock valued at $24,100,317. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ETN. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Eaton in the second quarter valued at about $178,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,723 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the second quarter worth approximately $526,000. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 19.5% in the second quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Eaton in the second quarter valued at approximately $225,974,000. 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.