Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $263,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,451 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. EPG Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. EPG Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $214,000. Carson Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the second quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Melius raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $568.50.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $578.28 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $478.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $410.02. The stock has a market cap of $270.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.