Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 5,223,781 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 66% from the previous session’s volume of 3,139,636 shares.The stock last traded at $302.76 and had previously closed at $311.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.30.

Eaton Stock Performance

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 fifty day moving average price of $353.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $331.34. The firm has a market cap of $123.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06.

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. On average, analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117 over the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,665,342,000 after acquiring an additional 56,516 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Eaton by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $836,938,000 after purchasing an additional 316,830 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Eaton by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,798,000 after purchasing an additional 597,700 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 253.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $753,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,436,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $476,582,000 after purchasing an additional 13,862 shares during the last quarter. 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.