Peter Denk Sells 2,416 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stock

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Peter Denk also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 29th, Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE ETN traded up $3.00 on Thursday, reaching $333.40. 1,487,142 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,012,587. The stock has a market cap of $133.29 billion, a PE ratio of 39.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $165.24 and a 12 month high of $333.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $311.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 1.7% in the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Eaton by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. grew its stake in Eaton by 3.6% in the first quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Eaton by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus raised their price target on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.27.

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.