Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Reaches New 1-Year High at $344.00

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $344.00 and last traded at $338.04, with a volume of 251226 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $336.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC upped their target price on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Eaton from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.27.

Eaton Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $135.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $319.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $274.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton's payout ratio is 44.39%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 owns 69,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,687,738.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,174 shares of company stock valued at $5,098,000. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3,435.0% during the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 707 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 11.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,339,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at approximately $972,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth approximately $255,000. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,160 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.