Coastline Trust Co Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Coastline Trust Co increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Gouws Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 12,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 13,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,413,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 17,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,934,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,831,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vectors Research Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 2,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. This represents a 16.00 % 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 valued at $9,251,912. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $384.08 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $381.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $354.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $185.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $241.81 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 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 given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

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.