Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Down 2.2% Following Insider Selling

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) fell 2.2% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $344.67 and last traded at $347.31. 764,663 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 2,074,190 shares. The stock had previously closed at $355.15.

Specifically, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.83.

Eaton Stock Up 0.2 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $356.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $326.88. 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 company has a market capitalization of $132.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.71, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.03.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 108.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $731,000. &PARTNERS boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 165.0% during the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 6,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,959,000 after acquiring an additional 3,892 shares in the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 2,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $791,000. 82.97% of the stock is 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.