Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Trading Down 1%

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $326.33 and last traded at $328.02. Approximately 161,347 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 2,171,981 shares. The stock had previously closed at $331.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $370.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $348.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $337.41.

Eaton Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $130.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $301.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.35 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors 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 yield of 1.15%. Eaton's payout ratio is 44.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $96,721.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,328. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total transaction of $14,762,020.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at $21,451,287.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total value of $96,721.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,858,328. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 259,615 shares during the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Eaton by 323.8% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,192,576 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $998,255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 15.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,318,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $412,108,000 after purchasing an additional 176,571 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

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.