Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Given “Buy” Rating at Mizuho

Mizuho reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a $355.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $340.00.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ETN. UBS Group upped their price objective on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wolfe Research restated an underperform rating and set a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. One research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $302.93.

Eaton Trading Down 2.0 %

Eaton stock opened at $312.03 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Eaton has a 12-month low of $165.24 and a 12-month high of $333.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $307.35 and a 200 day moving average of $260.80.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced 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 net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Eaton will post 10.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. 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. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accurate Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth about $226,000. Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $301,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 6.2% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 62,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,300,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Eaton by 4.0% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 105,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,444,000 after buying an additional 4,048 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Eaton by 9.6% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 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.