Montecito Bank & Trust Acquires New Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Montecito Bank & Trust bought a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,656,286,000 after purchasing an additional 208,196 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,165,899,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,386,626,000 after acquiring an additional 264,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,295,432,000 after acquiring an additional 33,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 448,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 79,061 shares of company stock worth $41,949,366 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $561.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $627.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $559.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $466.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Citigroup raised Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “mixed” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $612.16.

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.