Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Sets New 12-Month High at $333.06

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $333.06 and last traded at $323.73, with a volume of 878417 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $326.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ETN. Barclays upgraded Eaton from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $295.60.

Eaton Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $127.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. Eaton's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is 46.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,379,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $15,109,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,071 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,205,000 after purchasing an additional 7,964 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $2,958,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at $479,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

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.