GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Sells 9,010 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. cut its holdings in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 46.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,325 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,010 shares during the quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in Eaton were worth $2,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Eaton by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Eaton by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,839,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 33,265 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,040,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Eaton by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at $158,214,632. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on ETN shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Eaton from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $369.06.

Eaton Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:ETN traded up $3.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $361.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,088,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,668,688. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $326.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.79. The company has a market capitalization of $141.64 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Eaton Corporation, 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 data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Eaton's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is 41.98%.

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.