Banco Santander S.A. Purchases 2,822 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,822 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $32,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,386,626,000 after purchasing an additional 264,054 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,064,951,000 after purchasing an additional 268,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,211,000 after purchasing an additional 150,533 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $522.13 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $544.99. The company’s 50-day moving average is $464.46 and its 200 day moving average is $399.92. The company has a market capitalization of $244.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $517.00 to $594.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.