Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock Price Down 0.8%

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) shares traded down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $283.94 and last traded at $286.40. 238,573 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 2,162,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $375.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $328.00.

Eaton Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $114.22 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $303.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $310.88.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. The business 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, equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Eaton's payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Karenann K. Terrell bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $149,485. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Eaton news, Director Karenann K. Terrell bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $149,485. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,858,328. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,595,656 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,812,966,000 after acquiring an additional 259,615 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $1,087,983,000. Coatue Management LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 3,986,445 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $960,016,000 after buying an additional 195,809 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Eaton by 0.6% in the second 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 buying an additional 18,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Eaton by 323.8% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $998,255,000 after buying an additional 2,439,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.