Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Holdings Lowered by Eastern Bank

Key Points

• Eastern Bank reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, now holding 14,309 shares valued at approximately $5.56 million.
• Caterpillar recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 30.72%.
• Despite missing earnings estimates with $4.72 EPS, Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was $16.57 billion, exceeding expectations of $16.14 billion.

Eastern Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,309 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,467 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 32.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,745 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.1% during the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballew Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.6% during the first quarter. Ballew Advisors Inc now owns 878 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $491.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $511.50. The stock's 50-day moving average is $443.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $383.88. The firm has a market cap of $230.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $478.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.

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