ING Groep NV Purchases 56,144 Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) by 32.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 230,842 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,144 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned about 0.06% of Eaton worth $76,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Breakwater Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1,560.0% in the second quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Eaton during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the 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 owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Karenann K. Terrell acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $149,485. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,705 shares of company stock valued at $24,516,346. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN traded down $7.81 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $361.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,816,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,112,224. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $332.81 and a 200-day moving average of $320.84. 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 company has a market capitalization of $143.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.01. Eaton Co. plc has a 12-month low of $224.52 and a 12-month high of $373.49.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. Eaton's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Eaton's payout ratio is 40.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $348.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Eaton from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.83.

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.