Commerce Bank boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 142,698 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,498 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $55,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $7,288,000. West Family Investments Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 413,719 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $161,814,000 after purchasing an additional 7,118 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $54,997,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in Caterpillar by 21.8% during the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 27,845 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,892,000 after buying an additional 4,986 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.
CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $365.33.
Read Our Latest Analysis on CAT
Shares of CAT stock opened at $382.26 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $241.81 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $382.87 and its 200-day moving average is $354.71.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 26.15%.
In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 16.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.
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.
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