Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) to Issue $0.94 Quarterly Dividend

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 23rd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of 0.94 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%.

Eaton has raised its dividend by an average of 5.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Eaton has a dividend payout ratio of 32.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Eaton to earn $11.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.6%.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $312.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $302.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.66. Eaton has a 52-week low of $161.12 and a 52-week high of $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Eaton will post 10.28 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 69,472 shares in the company, valued at $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% 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.