Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Stake Raised by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,252 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Eaton were worth $22,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,383,000. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 7.2% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Eaton by 5.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 61,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,244,000 after purchasing an additional 3,361 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in Eaton by 6.0% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth about $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ETN. Mizuho lifted their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group began 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.30.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $312.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $353.01 and its 200-day moving average is $331.34. Eaton Co. plc has a 52-week low of $244.35 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The company has a market cap of $123.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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.