Eaton Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:ETN)

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 8,194 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 117% compared to the average volume of 3,783 call options.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its stake in Eaton by 142.9% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the first quarter valued at $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.60.

Eaton Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:ETN opened at $326.84 on Tuesday. Eaton has a 52 week low of $165.24 and a 52 week high of $331.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $305.81 and its 200-day moving average is $259.67. The firm has a market cap of $130.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Eaton will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.88%.

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.