Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Price Target Cut to $305.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $335.00 to $305.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. UBS Group started coverage on Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.15.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $287.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $323.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $332.18. Eaton has a 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The company has a market cap of $112.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,351,506,000 after purchasing an additional 99,291 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,051,807,000 after acquiring an additional 182,455 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,714,677,000 after acquiring an additional 129,071 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,550,226,000 after acquiring an additional 192,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Eaton by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,518,207,000 after acquiring an additional 368,241 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.