Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Bank of Montreal Can cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 677,707 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 93,110 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.14% of Caterpillar worth $263,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after buying an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 546.6% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,297,000 after acquiring an additional 712,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,064,951,000 after purchasing an additional 268,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8%

CAT stock opened at $578.28 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $596.21. The firm has a market cap of $270.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $478.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $410.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued 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 target price of $568.50.

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.