Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 7,849 Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 7,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,358,000. Caterpillar comprises 4.0% of Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $18,826,000. Payne Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $278,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $2,189,000. Sanchez Levi Garrett acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $1,558,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $564,054,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Caterpillar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Caterpillar from $1,050.00 to $1,155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $900.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $1,002.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $995.52.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $813.51 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $868.12 and a 200-day moving average of $839.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $373.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.60. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $416.44 and a twelve month high of $1,073.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced 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 for 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 32,401 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $808.98, for a total transaction of $26,211,760.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 34,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,954,303.90. This trade represents a 48.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.