Midwest Trust Co Sells 2,420 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Midwest Trust Co lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,420 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up approximately 1.1% of Midwest Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $80,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,656,286,000 after buying an additional 208,196 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $2,165,899,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 20.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,695,757,000 after acquiring an additional 609,023 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Caterpillar by 4.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,282,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,274,385,000 after purchasing an additional 140,784 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $742.51 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $743.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $347.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $620.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $532.69.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The business had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.14 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 32.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $708.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $678.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore increased their price target on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $690.90.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total transaction of $7,261,081.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,001,197.95. This represents a 20.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total transaction of $16,314,812.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $57,574,954.83. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 130,545 shares of company stock valued at $88,294,733 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.