Ledyard National Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Ledyard National Bank reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 55.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,153 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 68,427.2% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,140,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,224,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,136,020 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $1,225,317,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 573.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $861,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,087 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,860,457,000 after purchasing an additional 928,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8,359.6% during the fourth quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 513,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $294,314,000 after purchasing an additional 507,681 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Caterpillar from $1,050.00 to $1,155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $900.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 price objective on Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $995.52.

Caterpillar Stock Up 3.2%

CAT stock opened at $883.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $406.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.03, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $405.46 and a 12 month high of $1,073.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $914.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $829.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $1.95. The business had revenue of $20.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.34 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 14.51%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.72 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 26.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

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.