Northwest Bancshares Inc. Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Northwest Bancshares Inc. reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $382.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $241.81 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $382.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $354.71.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

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.