KBC Group NV Sells 3,425 Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)

KBC Group NV lessened its position in Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,871 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,425 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Eaton were worth $17,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 0.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,593,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Bearing Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,713,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,505 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $953,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its position in Eaton by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Eaton by 5.4% in the first quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 3,145 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ETN shares. Citigroup raised 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. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.06.

Eaton Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE ETN traded up $3.79 on Friday, reaching $361.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,088,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,664,244. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Eaton Corporation, PLC has a 52 week low of $231.85 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The stock has a market cap of $141.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's 50 day moving average is $324.90 and its 200-day moving average is $312.84.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Eaton's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 490,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.