Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock Price Down 2.2% - Time to Sell?

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) traded down 2.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $344.67 and last traded at $347.31. 764,663 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 2,074,190 shares. The stock had previously closed at $355.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $382.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $374.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI cut Eaton from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $367.83.

Eaton Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $137.11 billion, a PE ratio of 36.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50 day moving average is $356.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $326.83.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,665,342,000 after acquiring an additional 56,516 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Eaton by 0.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 18,077 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 15.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $836,938,000 after purchasing an additional 316,830 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake 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 worth $801,798,000 after purchasing an additional 597,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 253.2% during the third 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 buying an additional 1,629,856 shares during the period. 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.