Swiss National Bank Trims Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,451,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $567,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $384.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $185.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $381.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $354.20. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $241.81 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar 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.