Westpac Banking Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 23.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,185 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rice Partnership LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 3,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,228,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 2,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 346,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $198,735,000 after purchasing an additional 23,192 shares during the period. Beaton Management Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc. now owns 5,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Trust Co now owns 11,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,837,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total transaction of $22,354,968.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at $79,397,884.68. This represents a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,273 shares of company stock valued at $89,439,960. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $900.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. HSBC boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $825.00 price objective on Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $933.27.

Caterpillar Trading Up 5.2%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $910.03 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $344.92 and a 52-week high of $931.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $814.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $705.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $419.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The business had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.06%.

About Caterpillar

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.