Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Eaton (NYSE:ETN)

Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 9,901 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 32% compared to the typical volume of 7,493 call options.

Eaton Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $425.92. 1,009,688 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,749,595. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $165.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $374.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $358.70. Eaton has a 1 year low of $283.00 and a 1 year high of $432.34.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter. Eaton had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 25.00%. The firm had revenue of $7.06 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Eaton will post 13.31 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total transaction of $4,178,513.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,729 shares in the company, valued at $10,821,519.54. This represents a 27.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the second quarter valued at $36,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $435.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $430.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.50.

About Eaton

Eaton (NYSE: ETN) is a diversified power management company that designs, manufactures and distributes products and systems to manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company’s offerings are used to improve energy efficiency, reliability and safety across a wide range of applications, with core capabilities in electrical distribution and control, industrial hydraulics and aerospace systems.

Its product portfolio includes switchgear, circuit breakers, transformers, power distribution units, uninterruptible power supplies and surge protection devices for electrical infrastructure, along with hydraulic pumps, valves and filtration systems for industrial and mobile equipment.