Insider Buying: Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Director Purchases 500 Shares of Stock

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) Director Karenann K. Terrell bought 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,485. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $296.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,710,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,166,964. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $307.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $310.22. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $191.82 and a 52 week high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.66 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ETN. Argus increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho restated a "buy" rating and set a $355.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,087,983,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 323.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $998,255,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439,270 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 2,857.4% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,262,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $394,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,790 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 2,006.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 964,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $232,326,000 after acquiring an additional 918,936 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at $225,974,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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