KBC Group NV Has $22 Million Stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 66,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,252 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Eaton were worth $22,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its position in Eaton by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 1,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 16.2% in the third quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC raised its position in Eaton by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ETN stock opened at $312.26 on Wednesday. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $244.35 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $353.01 and a 200-day moving average of $331.34. The company has a market capitalization of $123.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, 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 sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.