Insider Selling: Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Insider Sells 1,412 Shares of Stock

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN traded up $0.61 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $377.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,016,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,111,760. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $344.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $323.22. The firm has a market cap of $149.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Eaton Co. plc has a 52 week low of $224.52 and a 52 week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ETN. Citigroup began coverage on Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.83.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Breakwater Investment Management raised its position in shares of Eaton by 1,560.0% during the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in shares of Eaton by 83.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares during the period. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.