First County Bank CT Reduces Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First County Bank CT lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 57 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Capital International Investors raised its position in Caterpillar by 99.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $179,060,000 after purchasing an additional 244,253 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 306.9% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,385,000 after buying an additional 307,479 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $9,366,000. Linscomb Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 148,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,547,000 after acquiring an additional 14,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.3 %

CAT stock opened at $390.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $241.81 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $385.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $355.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.