Montis Financial LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Montis Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Montis Financial LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $402.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $357.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $349.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $403.60. The firm has a market cap of $196.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Barclays boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $347.56.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.