Eastern Bank Grows Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 249.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 10,187 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 306.9% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,385,000 after buying an additional 307,479 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its stake in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after acquiring an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $97,042,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 99.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,060,000 after purchasing an additional 244,253 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 104.6% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $128,768,000 after purchasing an additional 200,134 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $388.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $403.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $365.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $350.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $355.50.

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.