JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock Price

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) had its price objective boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $300.00 to $360.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on ETN. StockNews.com lowered Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $355.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.56.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $329.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $287.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Eaton has a 12 month low of $231.85 and a 12 month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter 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 anticipate that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 490,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $158,214,632. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Eaton by 102.0% in the first quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.