126,864 Shares in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Purchased by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 126,864 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $42,102,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $297,000. Bearing Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $2,713,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in Eaton by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ETN shares. Melius lowered Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday. BNP Paribas started coverage on Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.83.

Eaton Trading Up 0.1%

ETN opened at $329.34 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $288.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $319.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. 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 Co. plc has a one year low of $231.85 and a one year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. Analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Eaton 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.

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