Argus Raises Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Price Target to $350.00

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) had its target price upped by Argus from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Argus currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ETN. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wolfe Research reiterated an underperform rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Mizuho reissued a buy rating and set a $355.00 target price (up from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised shares of Eaton from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and lifted their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $314.27.

Eaton Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of ETN stock traded up $6.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $320.50. 1,769,790 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,741,837. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $308.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $261.94. The stock has a market cap of $128.14 billion, a PE ratio of 37.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton has a 12 month low of $165.24 and a 12 month high of $333.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton will post 10.45 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. 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. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ETN. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 142.9% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.