Ledyard National Bank Reduces Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Ledyard National Bank lessened its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 55.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,153 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 440.0% in the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 93.8% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 31 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 3.2%

Caterpillar stock opened at $883.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $914.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $829.59. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $405.46 and a twelve month high of $1,073.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $1.95. The firm had revenue of $20.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.34 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 14.51%.Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 26.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. HSBC raised their price target on Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 target price on Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $995.52.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.