Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Decreases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 55.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,292 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,286,582,000 after acquiring an additional 75,973 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.1 %

CAT stock opened at $363.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $175.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $276.94 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $384.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $364.02.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.33.

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.