Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) dropped 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $359.05 and last traded at $361.32. Approximately 296,617 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 2,101,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $363.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $374.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.83.

Eaton Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $338.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $322.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,161.50. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,705 shares of company stock worth $24,516,346. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisory Resource Group grew its position in Eaton by 10.9% during the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 4,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at $255,000. TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 99,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,943,000 after purchasing an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 8,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,862,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 14.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 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.