Private Trust Co. NA Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $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 valued at $8,233,034 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $403.23 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $246.01 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $194.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $386.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $356.00.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

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.