Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN – Get Rating)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $185.00 to $200.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Eaton traded as high as $176.20 and last traded at $176.13, with a volume of 428668 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $175.15.
Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Eaton from $169.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Eaton from $175.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Eaton from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Eaton from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.36.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Eaton news, insider Joao V. Faria sold 2,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.23, for a total transaction of $398,280.98. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,291,899.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Joao V. Faria sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $338,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 67,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,351,054. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joao V. Faria sold 2,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.23, for a total value of $398,280.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,291,899.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,530 shares of company stock worth $1,644,639 in the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Eaton
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Regal Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. Gallagher Benefit Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $779,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in Eaton by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 13,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 3,819 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $828,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.19% of the company’s stock.
Eaton Trading Up 0.5 %
The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.25. The company has a market cap of $70.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.
Eaton (NYSE:ETN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.34 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 18.31% and a net margin of 11.86%. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Eaton Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.68%.
About Eaton
Eaton Corp. Plc is a power management company, which provides energy-efficient solutions for electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical power. It operates through the following segments: Electrical Americas and Electrical Global, Hydraulics, Aerospace, Vehicle, and eMobility. The Electrical Americas and Electrical Global segments engage in sales contracts for electrical components, industrial components, power distribution and assemblies, residential products, single and three phase power quality, wiring devices, circuit protection, utility power distribution, power reliability equipment, and service.