Midwest Trust Co Invests $66.82 Million in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Midwest Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 172,129 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,822,000. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 0.9% of Midwest Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the period. SkyOak Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Rational Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 52.7% in the 1st quarter. Rational Advisors Inc. now owns 2,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 882 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.9% in the first quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,626,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. HSBC raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $596.59.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $562.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $491.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $418.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,823 shares of company stock valued at $34,477,790. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.