BankPlus Trust Department Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

BankPlus Trust Department lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,320 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in Caterpillar by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 45.5% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 397,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $131,212,000 after acquiring an additional 124,486 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $583.09 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $627.50. The company has a market cap of $272.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50 day moving average is $568.28 and its 200 day moving average is $477.54.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $557.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $616.00.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total transaction of $5,714,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,692,062.40. The trade was a 15.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,669,312.16. This represents a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,895 shares of company stock valued at $34,007,516. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.