Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 267 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Trivium Point Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 132.9% in the second quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,037,000 after buying an additional 7,125 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.2% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,557,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $427,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $492.80.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $505.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $236.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $511.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $444.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $385.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Profile

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.