Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Sets New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $385.65 and last traded at $384.39, with a volume of 367691 shares. The stock had previously closed at $380.24.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Eaton from $323.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $377.89.

Eaton Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $153.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $344.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $315.82.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total value of $33,400,106.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ETN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,109,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,839,000. RiverFront Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,579,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

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.