Ballentine Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.50.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of CAT opened at $388.52 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $403.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $367.72 and a 200 day moving average of $350.86. The company has a market cap of $190.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

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.