Royal Bank of Canada Raises Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Price Target to $356.00

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $336.00 to $356.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Melius Research reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $289.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $361.13.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN stock traded up $2.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $309.78. The company had a trading volume of 248,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,633,660. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $282.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $320.53. Eaton has a 12 month low of $231.85 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $121.36 billion, a PE ratio of 32.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Eaton by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,351,506,000 after acquiring an additional 99,291 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,051,807,000 after purchasing an additional 182,455 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,714,677,000 after purchasing an additional 129,071 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,550,226,000 after purchasing an additional 192,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Eaton by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,518,207,000 after purchasing an additional 368,241 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Eaton

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.