Brokerages Set Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) PT at $369.28

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $368.89.

Several analysts recently issued reports on ETN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their target price for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $346.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Eaton has a 1-year low of $236.20 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $354.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.53.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 48.9% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP lifted its position in Eaton by 82.7% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 151,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,571,000 after purchasing an additional 68,693 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 285.5% during the 2nd quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 4,254 shares during the period. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 38,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastover Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,167,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by 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.