Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock Price Up 0.2% - What's Next?

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $365.00 and last traded at $359.38. 879,811 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 2,082,573 shares. The stock had previously closed at $358.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ETN. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research raised Eaton from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $382.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Eaton from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and increased their price target for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $367.83.

Eaton Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $354.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $326.12. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $143.80 billion, a PE ratio of 38.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Eaton's payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at $17,241,796.60. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,981 shares of company stock worth $24,100,317 in the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Breakwater Investment Management raised its position in shares of Eaton by 1,560.0% during the second quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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