Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Acquired by BankPlus Trust Department

BankPlus Trust Department increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up 0.7% of BankPlus Trust Department’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. BankPlus Trust Department’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 4.8% during the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 41.6% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 11,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,915,000 after buying an additional 3,481 shares during the period. Finally, Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 21.3% during the first quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 774 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total transaction of $7,941,849.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 465,339 shares in the company, valued at $215,289,088.35. The trade was a 3.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $466.53.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7%

CAT opened at $486.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $439.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $380.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $505.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

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.