Central Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Central Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 25,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,076 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up 1.4% of Central Bank & Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 215.4% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $358.19.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $376.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $182.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $233.57 and a 12 month high of $403.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $372.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $351.45.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,128 shares of company stock valued at $2,506,748. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.