Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by CW Advisors LLC

CW Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,443 shares during the quarter. CW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $28,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. HSBC raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Argus lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $610.32.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $582.68 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $272.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $596.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $534.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $447.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $568.86 per share, for a total transaction of $170,658.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,730.42. This represents a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 79,061 shares of company stock valued at $41,949,366 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Company 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.